I spent some time this week looking through several years of sketchbooks. I was just looking for inspiration for compositions and reviewing ideas I have worked through over the years.

I am so very glad I keep records of sketches and ideas in these books.

I know that everybody does not have a sketchbook or journal practice, and I know that those who do use them in very different ways. For me, my sketchbooks are quick references of what I’ve been thinking about creating.

What interested me as a discovery this week was about the actual process of coming up with complete compositions to fill a picture plane through fast, loose sketches.

Sometimes, thinking about compositions can start from the outside edge and work in. It’s more methodical. If you want to make a square artwork, draw a square. Then draw the shape or thing you want to depict and place it someplace in the square. Try making it larger or smaller; move it around in the square.

This works. I’ve done this lots of times. It’s a way to explore.

But that’s not what I discovered this week. Instead, I rediscovered the process of starting from the inside – with the shape or thing — and then just loosely adding to it to see where it goes.

I had a few pages of sketches I did in a coffee shop, depicting the simple objects on the table, to show the process.

Here’s a salt shaker and a glass:

Not interesting yet, but a start. Maybe they need some friends:

Now I have four shapes in my picture plane. This is the point that I think is often challenging for artmakers. How do I make them relate to each other? How do I make the whole thing a unified composition, not just random things. For that, I played quickly with some connecting shapes:

Even as a loose rendering, I can already see how this might make an interesting large artwork. I’ve begun to look for variations in shape as well as variations in light and dark.

Here’s another one that was fun. Beginning with a single loosely drawn coffee cup:

Again, I’ve added some friends. (These were not really on the table. At this point I was making up characters.)

I liked the playful feel of this, and decided to experiment with additions of silverware, in addition to connecting linear and shape elements:

I can envision this as a large work, with lots of possibilities for how to depict these simple elements.

A few learning takeaways:

Simple subject matter can make great art. I’m not all that interested in cups and salt shakers. But, used creatively, I think they could be great subjects for artwork. So could a stick. Or a table. Or a shoe. Or some bugs. Or circles and rectangles. Sometimes artmakers get the visual-artist version of writer’s block, seeking for fascinating subject matter. It’s probably more important to find subject matter that you like, then make it interesting through composition and how it’s created.

The value of a skeleton. I do understand that different artists go about creating work in different ways. But, for me, even a loose framework or skeleton sketched out to begin is invaluable to give a piece direction.

Save your ideas! I like bound books. Maybe you prefer scraps of paper tossed into a shoebox. OK. Just save them somewhere, somehow. Words, sketches, photos, digital mockups. Hold on to them and review them now and then. There are probably some great ideas in there.

. . . .

Follow-up from last week’s blog: I was writing last week about color, and about some fabrics I had created for a quilt I was re-working. I got it finished. Here it is:

This is “Remembering The Way II.” If you’d like to see more about it, please visit the work on my website HERE.

. . . . . .

Countdown continues: The DeLand-Area Studio Tour is March 2-3. You are cordially invited to visit my studio. Please visit the tour website or contact me if you need information.

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating

Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi

bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

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