Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Journaling with pictures

Having practiced (or remembered) the basics of drawing, Gregory now leads his readers into sketch journaling. He has some wonderful things to say about keeping a sketch journal.

Two of my favorite quotes are :

Your pen line becomes your mantra – non-judgmental, completely present, tying you to everything else.”

And “Journal-making is about believing in yourself, celebrating your life, having adventures, and feeling a part of (not apart from) the Universe. It’s also real fun.”

Essentially he means start playing with your drawing. Treating your drawing as play is a wonderful way to get out of the rational part of your mind and into the free-flowing, adventurous part.

 Journal Day 1
Journal Day 2 - OR  I'm so not a morning person!

I have kept sketch journals before (you've seen plenty of sketches from them in this blog) but usually to some purpose. Exploration of themes for an illustrated story, trying out specific art tools, or remembrances of SIFF 2010 for example. The latter example is the one that comes closest to what Gregory is talking about. But it wasn’t spontaneous or casual. It was serious drawing…at least to me. So I totally get the “make mistakes,” “don’t take it too seriously while joyfully exploring your world”  advice. I get that, I really do. Unfolding and allowing yourself to make mistakes (like for instance bad drawings) is really important, and I’m realizing right now that it is something that I am not used to doing.

Squandering art supplies…? Yikes! Making bad drawings! Eeeee – not me! Muddy paintings…don’t even go there! Well, today is Day Two of my new journal and I’m telling you here and now that I’m in it for the mistakes, bad drawings, poor perspective…and all. Happily for you I’m not going to post the worst of it here (I still have my pride, at least right now) but I will promise to post some of the interesting stuff. :-)

And so the journey through “The Creative License” continues…

12 comments:

  1. Welcome to EDM! Your journal pages are inspiring. I hope to see many more!

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  2. Thanks Christie! I look forward to sharing many more. :-)

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  3. Go for it, Sara! You're off to a great start with your journal. Welcome to the EDM group.

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  4. Really nice sketches and welcome to EDM. =) Like yourself, all the group members have strong passion in art, and we simply love sharing our work and expressions to everyone who is interested!
    Hope to see a lot more from you and have lots of fun!

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  5. Thanks to both Lynn and Alex. It feels great to be so welcomed. I look forward to seeing what all of you have been up to too. :-))

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  6. Hi welcome to EDM, you will find plenty of support and fun in this group.
    I had a quick look round at your work...your horses are beautiful!

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  7. So glad to make your acquaintance, and that you are well on your way to living your life more fully through your sketch journals! Danny Gregory has been an inspiration to us all.

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  8. Hi Sara,
    I'm an EDM newbie and so inspired by your blog!
    Looking forward to all yet to come!
    Thanks!
    ellen

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  9. Thanks everyone! I'm really encouraged and excited to be a part of the EDM group. Onwards and upwards! :-)

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  10. Welcome! You have found the right group.

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  11. I too have a hard time with mistakes! But I trudge on happily, because a mistake with a pen in my hand is better than a mistake without drawing at all, eh? I approach Danny Gregory a bit differently - I take Everyday Matters to mean that I have permission to draw anytime, anywhere - any thing I see at all on any given day. I don't do journal pages - mostly because of how I write! But you have some beautiful pages here! Anyway, welcome to EDM!

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  12. Thanks Sandra. :-)

    Thanks Dan. I totally agree with your idea of "mistakes." Much better with a pen in hand! :-))

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