Random sketchbook stuff

As you may or may not know I keep three regular sketchbooks. Two big ones measuring 25x25 cm (about 10x10 inches) and a small carry on sketchbook of 15x15 cm (about 6x6 inches). Can you tell I love a square format?

My three main sketchbooks all together, which rarely happens.

There's my Studio Book which lives in the Studio and often gets played in between other projects. It's also good for writing down ideas while I'm working on something, because that's how most ideas come to me. Then there's the Out of the Studio Book which mostly lives downstairs near my journaling table. On the cover its says "Me and my big ideas", which is a little joke on myself, since I always have way more I ideas than I ever can put into practice.  I will mostly work in this one while sitting on the couch, but sometimes I will actually pull it out at the journaling table itself. And the little one I carry in whatever bag I'm using, usually my pink backpack and it is very much an on the road or on the boat journal. ;-)

If you look very carefully you can see that the Studio Book has suffered some water damage. At some point while I was away my untrustworthy assistant knocked over a container of water and I didn't notice until days later. Now the cover is totally warped, but thankfully the insides are still okay, so it's not ruined or anything. I think it adds character.  ;-)

Anyway, today I wanted to show you some random spreads that have been done in these sketchbooks lately. Sketchbooks are instruments and should be treated as such. They are not for making perfect spreads, they are for practicing ideas and playing with materials and also for taking notes and pasting in stuff I find fascinating. Let's see what I've been playing at lately.

A silhouette of a city. I did these a lot several years ago and rekindled my love for them.

Little houses. The original is brighter than this.

A collage of found ephemera and left over stuff.

Some spreads are just messy collections of trying out materials and rubbing off left over paint.

A little test to see if liquid watercolor in a mini spritzer will serve as a spray paint. It does!

Just some nonsense with crayons. See that little 'with love' stamp on the right page?

Another silhouette city, this one in the small book.

Brainstorming very ambitious ideas. Nothing may come of them, but that's so not the point. ;-)

System work. I keep loving to do these.

This is actually an old spread I hadn't show yet. Ideas on the left. A little hand drawn patchwork on the right.

I love the fact that my sketchbooks are such a mix of various things that have nothing to do with each other. It takes the pressure off and it leaves you with a book that is full of surprises! I hope you love playing in your sketchbook(s) too!

Hope you enjoyed this peek and I wish you all a wonderful and artsy Wednesday!