Small sketchbook

I've kept this small square sketchbook for a while now (about a year and a half). It used to live in my backpack, but was replaced by several other (already filled up) sketchbooks and now it sits in the artsy box I keep near the couch. I still don't work in it very often. I love the size and the square format (it measures 15x15 cm, which is 6x6 inches) and the paper is nice too, but the binding makes it very hard to keep open.

I keep thinking of just abandoning it and replacing it with something a bit more practical that I will grab easier, but somehow I can't let go just yet. Where some people have a hard time finishing a sketchbook, I seem to have a hard time letting one go until it's done. But maybe I really should, since working in it is always a little annoying.

Anyway, here are some random pages from the small sketchbook so you can see what kind of stuff I do when I sit on the couch and need to get my art on, but don't want to get up to do it. The fact that my fingers are in just about every picture is proof of how hard it is to keep this book open. ;-)

A little letter drawing to get the creative juices flowing after being dormant for a while. This is done in a regular felt tip pen.

Abstract in cheap watersoluble crayons.

A system work drawing coloured in with textmarkers/highlighters.

A letter drawing in watercolour (and an empty page).

A bit of abstract nonsense in felt tip pen and watercolour.

Doodling away (both done in felt tip pens).

Some girls in felt tip pen.

Another system work drawing, this time coloured in with coloured pencils.

Paper tree collage.

By the way, I think another reason why I'm often reluctant to work in this book is because it was supposed to be an experiment in working more randomly and spontaneaously across a  whole book instead of chronologically filling page after page from front to back. I'm finding I don't like that at all. There's lots of people out there who fill there journals and sketchbooks that way, but I like my stuff to be in order of appearance. For me a book is like a story, be it the story of my life (my journal) or just the story of my art in that particular book. I like to know which came before what if you know what I mean. This book feels all over the place and I just don't know which goes where (or which goes when, haha)

Mmm, the more I think about it I really need to abandon this sketchbook. Now if I could only find the courage to dump a book that is not completely filled up. I really need psychological help! ;-)

Have a nice and artsy weekend, all!