I'm constantly finding new ways to use sketchbooks in my practice.

I sometimes draw realistically in books, although not as often as I used to. When I do this, it's a way of bringing myself into the present moment. I can't be fretting or overthinking if I'm concentrating on drawing.

I someties take a sketchbook outside and do quick loose sketches as a kind of mental note taking.  These sketches are often ugly, but their purpose is simply to embed a moment in my mind. 

Most often, I use a sketchbook in the studio to work out ideas, or record colour mixing experiments, or simply as a way of letting off steam. These books are a real hodge podge - some pages are quite good, others are a mess. Sometimes I write in these books - recording my ideas and thoughts about my work. Sometimes I paste in images of other artists' work, and make notes about what I admire and how I might bring some of that into my own experiments. Often I photograph work in progress and paste those images in as a way of working through ideas.

I use all kinds of books, but my favourite brand is definitely Seawhite. Their paper is delicious and takes acrylic paint really well. I love their concertina books (great for abstract landscapes), I love their hardbound books for my studio journals and I recently discovered their travel journals, which are yummy in a whole new way. These are my favourites for realistic drawing, but I am also using them in a new way.

In the past, I've struggled with journaling. I don't like to write about myself and I don't like to draw my surroundings each day - but I do want to keep a record of my life. As a result, I have a variety of unfinished sketchbooks where I began keeping a record, but then gave up.

But recently, I pulled out an old book about sketchbooks called Drawn In. This is one of my very favourite art books. It contains an amazing selection of sketchbook art and I always find it inspirational. Although I have read it many times, it always sparks a new idea and this time was no different. Suddenly, I saw a way I could keep a journal in a way that truly suits me. 

And so I started. My journal contains collage, writing, drawing, and a little bit of watercolour. I am not using acrylic paint in there because I work on it each evening at my kitchen table. I just have a small box of art materials in a cupboard next to the table, so it's easy to pull it out, make a page, and then clear up easily.

Sometimes the pages are drawings of something I saw, sometimes they are collaged reflections on my past, or dreams for the future. Sometimes they are about gratitude, or reflections on a problem, or a quote that I find inspiring. There are NO rules in this book; nothing that I HAVE to do. Making the pages is a meditative process - I allow intuition to guide what happens. Some look great, others are not very appealing.

I know the book is working for me because I love to touch it. That probably sounds really weird! But when I pass it, I give it a little pat. It makes me happy :)

I think this is because I am thinking about it so loosely. I have no rules. Anything goes. I even allow myself to work back into pages at a later date - sometimes I do it because I want to change the aesthetic, or sometimes because I have rethought something. I also don't make rules about how many pages I make in a day. Sometimes I make 3 pages in one day, sometimes I just add something to an old page.

In this way, the book offers me a sense of freedom and joy. It is a place of peace and acceptance, rather than being another job to do.

I offer this not to persuade you to do what I do, but to offer you the chance to think about what might feel good for you. In the end, finding what works for us is all we ever need to do, and I'd love to inspire you to find your own space of peace and joy in your art-making practice.