Much of my own sketching on the spot is journal work. One of my most popular recent books is Artist Journal Workshop, and I believe that’s because the idea of keeping an artist’s journal—a true journal, a visual diary—resonates with so many people. It spawned a blog, a Flickr group and a huge Facebook group because the subject speaks to people’s hearts.
Sketching on the spot can do the same, depending on what we are doing and why. I need to be out there, I need to respond and explore and celebrate. Other times, when I was working towards a show or an illustration assignment, the energy was just not there. Perhaps you’ve found the same.
Sometimes sketches are a record of an event or a time in our lives. They can even help us deal with a difficult event or find a new perspective. They can suggest connections you might not even see until they’re down on paper!
Let your page evolve, adding whatever moves you that day. Take an hour or a day. Then consider what the theme may be, as I did in my Power sketch. Let your images speak to you.
My husband was exhausted after long hours visiting his mother in the hospital. I’d sketched the power lines, then the young woman in her “power suit” and my beloved, who was entirely out of power. I didn’t realize until I finished the page what I had done. Each image was done on the spot in a different place, all referencing the same thing.
Danny Gregory is open and honest in his visual journal, allowing us to follow his train of thought as well as his dancing pen. Reading through the text is a beautiful revelation—let yourself be honest, too. It’s healing.