Cold Prairie Studio

Sketchbooks are on my mind.  Looking at how other people use their sketchbooks has always been a source of inspiration, and I repeatedly go back to books like An Illustrated Life Edited by Danny Gregory, Drawn To Nature by Clare Walker Leslie, John Muir Laws’ Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling, and Ian Fennelly’s Layers of Looking. 

I’ve recently been going through some of my own old sketchbooks.  Time and space make me less critical of these pages; more able to look at them wholly – for there are many ‘mistakes’ on my sketchbook pages.  After all, a sketchbook is a place to try new things, and learn by making mistakes.  Yet, sometimes my favourite pieces appear on these pages. There’s a freshness where I invite creativity without the usual restraint, and it’s that spontaneity that I try to carry into my finished works. 

This art-making habit of mine is a direct consequence of using sketchbooks. This January, with a few new projects in mind, I’m reaching for these familiar tools as navigation guides.

-Leane