Sketchbook vs Worksheet

The following is an entry from an older blog...


If I keep my blogs in any way as I do my journals and notebooks then it's likely to jump around a bit. My "notebooks" would likely be considered as sketch books by many. I don't consider them as such. Notebooks and worksheets work best for me. I'll often make a verbal notation of a scene or idea, rather than a visual image, to keep the mental picture firmly in my mind. Most often a page consists of a mixture of the two. They can be some what messy due to my tendency to grab a book and find a blank spot in a hurry. I do try to maintain some order though I suspect it's an order only I can see at times! :)
I prefer to make notes & worksheets before beginning a piece of artwork. That way I work out the idea but the actual exploration of the subject happens IN the art -- my passion for it is expressed during the creation of the piece. For myself there is always a great danger of burning out early on a subject; A concept has to continue to hold my attention in order for me to commit the time to give birth to it, if you will. If I allow too much early exploration through sketches then sketching becomes what I am doing. The sketch would become my response to whatever it was that urged me to create, and that may likely be the end of it. I rarely work the same subject more than once. If I do it is simply because I've not finished contemplating the topic of origin. On occasion, the first creation will inspire a second piece along the same topic line. So I do have series that I may return to from time to time --just as topics of conversation often arise out of the ashes of the spoken to spark to new life.
There are so very many things to think about that I cannot imagine ever running out of things to paint, or create on any particular subject. It really is quite like an insanity. I mean that light-heatedly, but there is a sharp pang of truth to it. A crazy life seems to be one of the requirements to the job of artist -- they don't tell ya that when ya sign up! :) But I do the best that I can to get through it with dignity, and try to produce the images in my mind's eye.

*Visit also "Pages From My Sketchbook" From Marion Bobby-Evans
* Artist Portfolio
* Above image, "The Traveller", ©Tree Pruitt 1999. All rights retained. Example of a worksheet with both sketch & notes.


*Original art images ©Tree Pruitt, unless otherwise indicated. Contact the artist prior to ANY use or for purchase information.

Share