My hall cupboard is one of those open-at-your-own-risk cupboards, so full (of terribly important unthrowoutable stuff I never use) that my catching reflexes and pain threshold are put to test every time I open it. So, as is the custom when I am very busy with work and look for any excuse not to sit down and get on with it, I decided this week I should give it a good clear out. In doing so I found a pile of sketchbooks from the first year of my Masters:
Teapots seem to feature heavily throughout the books...
...as do cakes. Hmmm.
These finds got me thinking about projects I had begun two years ago and then seemed to let fizzle out, and I have decided to get back to some of them. Keeping a sketchbook is one of the most rewarding things I think an illustrator or designer can do. I once filled a book with weekly illustrations inspired by the one word briefs on the 'Illustration Friday' blog (well worth looking at if you aren't familiar with it). And I know many an illustrator pal (Kasia Matyjaszek, Astrid Jaekel) whose sketchbooks are stunning works of art in themselves.
If I needed extra motivation, it has come in the form of The Big Draw - a UK wide drawing festival that kicks off tomorrow with events all over the country. There are a few in Edinburgh that I plan to check out.
So, tomorrow I will buy a new sketchbook (any excuse for stationary shopping), get researching for some new projects and revive some old ones. Look! I procrastinated and it paid off. Nice.
