Violette Clark
“I keep an art journal but not in the traditional sense. I art journal on loose pages of cardstock and keep them in a green box. I like being able to create on a clipboard and have that loose kind of freedom. I feel that sketchbooks are too confining. I used to create in an art journal book, but that was many years ago.”
—Violette Clark
Katie Kendrick
“I keep visual journals. I have several of different sizes; most of them are handmade or altered books (especially children’s board books) that I work in. I do sketches wherever. I have some on scraps of paper I’ll include in my journal as well as a few small ones that are all-purpose list/sketch/diary books.”
—Katie Kendrick
Sunny Carvalho
“I keep an ‘Idea Journal.’ The drawings are not perfect and often having little notes written all around them to remind me of what I had in mind when the inspiration struck. I often don’t remember what I drew the next day until I look. That tells me that had I not drawn it at that exact moment, the idea would have been gone forever.”
—Sunny Carvalho
Andrea Matus deMeng
“I keep a sketchbook. I have one in practically every bag I own. I rarely leave home without one. I’ve tried journaling, but always end up sketching instead.”
—Andrea Matus deMeng
Cindy Silverstein
Cynthia Stroo
Mindy Lacefield
“I keep an art journal. I actually work on several at once to keep my perspective refreshed and to be able to step away. I am more comfortable with a brush in my hand than a pencil, so I don’t necessarily sketch out my faces beforehand. Placement of the eyes and shape of the head do play a part in my girls, and when the inspiration strikes to play a bit, I will pick up a sketchbook to hash out the details.”
—Mindy Lacefield
Jane Spakowsky
Kate Thompson
“I keep both. Sketchbooks keep me drawing, and that is by far the best discipline for artists. I have a journal, which helps me figure out techniques for paintings, but it is art only for me that I would never sell. It is my own artistic journey.”
—Kate Thompson
Misty Mawn
Michael deMeng
“I keep a sketchbook. Sometimes my sketches are finished products and stand on their own; sometimes they are working designs for a final sculptural piece.”
—Michael deMeng
Traci Bautista
Serena Barton
“I keep a book with sketches, some writing, and images that speak to me from magazines or the Internet. Sometimes I keep a visual journal daily, and other times I may neglect it for months. When I do return to my journal, I wonder what took me so long.”
—Serena Barton