I believe a sketchbook is like a diary: personal and to be opened only by the person whose it is, or by invitation. By keeping my sketchbook private I don't inhibit myself by worrying about what people will think about something in it, hold back an idea that might seem foolish if I told someone else, or tear out a sketch that was a disaster.
So why then am I showing these pages from my sketchbook here? Because a sketchbook is something that causes great stress to many people. There’s the concern about what exactly should go into a sketchbook. How you should sketch. The worry that that you’re “doing it right”. That if anyone looked in your sketchbook they’re realise you weren’t a “real artist”.
Being faced with a pristine sketchbook can be intimidated. The clean pages are full of potential and putting a pen to a page is a commitment. You’re worried you’ll muck it up. And that the evidence is going to remain there, haunting you every time you open up the sketchbook. (I get round this by starting at the back each time – on the theory that by the time I reach the first page, my drawing will have improved through the pages of practising.)
You’ll see that my sketchbook isn’t full of masterpieces. But that’s not my intention. This sketchbook more of a visual reminder and a journal of ideas (for both painting and writing). It’s small enough to fit in a pocket, along with a 0.1mm permanent black pen, which means it’s to hand whenever I want to make a note of or sketch something.
