The brief

In this research task, you should aim to select a minimum of six artists to research their sketchbooks.  You don’t need to look at your selected artist all in one go.  You might keep adding to the research as you go through the other exercises.  As you undertake the exercises and assignment keep adding to your research.  As you reach the end of Assignment 1 you can also add to this research point by reflecting on your own sketchbook process. 

Don’t just produce other artists’ work in your learning log.  Think more about your response to their work and how it resonates with you.  For example, what can you learn from its content, the media it is being rendered in and how does the artist draw?  Does the artist include ‘mistakes’ in their sketchbook?  Do they hide any of the content? 

My approach to this research project

Paging through an artist’s sketchbook can reveal many things about that person and what interest them, the colours they like and topics they enjoy illustrating.  Not all artist show their sketchbooks to the public.  It is fascinating to look ‘behind the scene’ at an artist’s sketchbook, almost like looking behind the curtain of a theatre production.  You see the raw drawings, mistakes, the artist thought process and explorations.  

I will use the book Sketchbooks, the hidden art of Designers, Illustrators and Creatives by Richard Brereton for the first section of this research project.  Brereton focuses on several artists and specifically their sketchbooks.  I have been fascinated by these sketchbooks, and they all seem to be very different from each other.  This is the ideal opportunity to dive deeper and explore more. 

I have selected three artists from this book that resonate with me because they use techniques I feel I can learn from or have a style I admire.  It can also be because they use their sketchbook in a way I could aspire to.  I will elaborate more as I research each artist. 

1. Pablo Amargo
2. Andrea Dezsö
3. Isidro Ferrer

 The artists I have selected are unfamiliar to me at this stage, so I am excited to learn something new and broaden my knowledge as I research.  

1.    Pablo Amargo 

Pablo Amargo was born in 1971 and is a reward-winning freelance illustrator who lives and works in Oviedo, Spain.  Clients include Media Vaca, Editions Retz, Random House, Spain Gourmet, La Vanguardia and ICEX.  (Brereton, 2012) 

Amargo uses two sketchbooks.  One is for pleasure, where he gathers all things that inspire him.  He fills this sketchbook with collages, his thoughts, people he admires, quotes from books, news and film reviews.   

His second sketchbook is for work and seems more resolved than the first one.  One can say it is step 2 of the ideation process.  Pablo Amargo says that ideas often come suddenly, so he captures them quickly by putting them into his first sketchbook.  Amargo explores his ideas through drawing.  He uses lots of little drawings to gather ideas for postcards and books.

Amargo further says that his sketchbooks are not a removed, strange or chaotic place; they’re actually quite ordered and are a natural extension of my published work.  

Pablo Amargo’s sketchbooks are neat and orderly.  Many of his sketches and collages seem resolved to me.  I can observe that Amargo is very skilled in drawing, which comes naturally to him after drawing for many years.  He received his first award (Lazarillo Award) in 1999, and many awards followed after that.  

It is a nice idea to have two sketchbooks.  One is for collecting ideas and exploring mediums, which could be rough and messy.  The second one can be more resolved, and the outcome of your ideas collected in the first sketchbook.  

I like the collages that Amargo does in his sketchbooks.  It is different to my own perception of a collage.  His collages are made up of shapes of colour.  Amargo also explores text in his sketchbooks.  His drawings are different sizes; some are in boxed frames, and others are free-flowing and bigger.  I like that his drawings are mostly line drawings, and he adds flat darker tones with his pencil.  At times he will work with black ink and coloured paper.  

Amargo’s choice of medium appeals to me, as pencil and ink are my favourite mediums for my sketchbook.  I also like to explore ideas through drawing.  Pencil and ink are convenient for travelling and ideal when the focus is mainly on the idea and not as much on the rendering as yet.    Pablo Amargo’s website:   https://www.pabloamargo.com

2.    Andrea Dezsö

Illustrator Andrea Dezsö was born in Transylvania and now lives in New York City.  Her artwork and writings have appeared in the New Your Times, McSweeney’s, Esopus, Blab and Print.  Andrea Dezsö has some insightful views on the privacy of a sketchbook and how she prefers to work in a book instead of loose paper.  

She says, “Even though I am aware that people might eventually look at my sketchbooks, it’s not the same feeling of unilateral exposure as when one looks at a picture on a wall standing by itself.  Coming across the same work in a book is more like a game of hide-and-seek.” (Brereton, 2012)

Dezsö always carries a small thin, brown (Muji-brand) lined notebook everywhere she goes.  She says, “These are my least composed sketchbooks, the ones are all dated and numbered on the inner front cover, and I decorate each cover differently, using drawings, painting, printing, stickers, found labels or paper cut-outs.” (Brereton, 2012)

Observing Dezsö’s sketchbook covers in Figure 3 sparks another idea for my own sketchbooks.  I like the idea of decorating the cover of each sketchbook.  It sets the sketchbooks apart from each other as if they have their own personalities.  The cover can also depict the context of your surroundings, when you started that particular sketchbook, for example, the holiday season, new year, travel, winter, or even when you are going through a difficult or happy time in your life.  

In addition to the Muji lined notebook, Dezsö uses a small Moleskine when travelling.  “On long flights or when sitting on a beach, I like to sketch what I see.”  She further says that drawing directs her attention with purpose and clarity towards a singular object that has a different personal involvement than taking a photo.  

I agree with Andra Dezsö.  You engage with an object or scene more intensely by drawing it because you need to observe smaller details to be able to draw the object or scene.  For this reason, drawing might be optimal instead of taking photos.  I tend to take photos with the idea of drawing it later or because I don’t want to draw attention to myself by sitting in front of a flower and drawing it.  The question is, do you really capture the movement of the flower blowing in the breeze at the time and the sweet aroma in the air?  Those things all play a role in capturing the essence of a drawing.  Of course, it is still important to take photos, but I think it is good to be mindful of your intention and desired outcome during that sketchbook moment.

Andrea Dezsö uses predominantly ink line drawings in her sketchbook.  She uses her sketchbook when travelling and jot down concepts, ideas and observations.  This is how she prefers to work in her sketchbook, and although her style differs from Pablo Amargo, you could say they use their sketchbooks in a similar way.

Although I love the idea of using drawing as my primary observational tool, I would also like to experiment with shapes, negative space, blind contour drawing, different mediums, painting, collages and cut-outs.  I am still finding my style as an illustrator and this method will nudge me in the right direction.  I might even be very versatile in my style instead of sticking to a very recognisable style.  Observational drawing as a regular practice as seen in Andrea Dezsö’s studies (Figure 4), is essential to eventually drawing from memory and imagination.   Andrea Dezsö’s website:   https://andreadezso.com

3.    Isidro Ferrer

Isidro Ferrer arranges his sketchbooks according to different uses.  He has sketchbooks to record his thoughts and actions connected with his job through ideas, sketches and projects, and then he has separate sketchbooks for more private use. 

Ferrer says the following about his two types of sketchbooks,  “…these become companions on my journey, a place where I keep my impressions, reflections and quotes.  There is often a cross-contamination between the two types of sketchbooks…” (Brereton, 2012)

Isidro Ferrer sees his sketchbooks as a record, memory, milestone and progression.  Ferrer says, “It provides evidence of what I am living”.  I can relate to Ferrer’s use of a sketchbook.  I would also like to use my sketchbook as a record of my artistic milestones, style and progression.  It can also be a memoir of your life and travels, a way to organise and process your ideas and a quick way of capturing them.  

Ferrer further says, “For me, it is very therapeutic to draw.  I love the texture of the paper, the stroke of the pencil, the stroke on the paper, the tactile part of the action of drawing.  In my sketchbooks, I try to order my world, to upgrade information, to make a note of events, to write a list of works or shopping lists, to note down phone numbers, movies that I’ve seen, books I will read, quotes found in books I’ve read, discs that have seduced me….”  

The way Ferrer uses his sketchbook shows that it can be used for many purposes.  I can learn from that because I currently use my sketchbook predominantly for sketching.  This makes me think that I might be missing out.  Including more day-to-day life experiences such as reflecting on a movie, jotting down a quote that resonates with me, or even writing down my shopping list might become words, becoming pictures, which can become new ideas.

Isidro Ferrer’s sketchbook pages are lovely and look like completed art pieces.  I love how he incorporates his notes and sketches to appear cohesive, as if it belongs on the page.  He doesn’t reveal what medium he uses, but some of the images look like lino prints or monoprints, but I can’t say for sure.  I like how he combines line drawing, printing, shapes of colour without any outline, note taking and collages to create his sketchbook pages.  I like his approach and by observing his sketchbooks he has given me lots to think about and things to try in my own sketchbook.   Isidro Ferrer’s website:   https://isidroferrer.com

Exploring further, I discovered more illustrators who revealed their sketchbooks to the public.  The illustrators about to follow were not featured in Richard Brereton’s book.

4.    Emma Carlisle

I have decided to explore the sketchbooks of Emma Carlisle because her style and approach are very different to what I have researched up to now.  Emma Carlisle is an artist and lecturer based in Plymouth, UK.  Her work is mainly landscapes of Devon and Cornwall.  Her expressive use of colours and marks in pencil, watercolour, gouache and acrylic often becomes a beautiful landscape that captures your imagination. 

Carlisle is happy to share her sketchbooks through published books, social media, calendars, and her website.  Her sketchbooks give us a deeper insight into how she works.

I have noticed that I avoid landscapes in my sketchbooks.  This is not because I’m not interested in landscapes as a topic but mostly because I have had this perception since art school that landscapes are old fashion and boring.  Of course, this cannot be further from the truth, but this perception somehow stuck with me for so many years.

Emma Carlisle’s work shatters that perception and I can admire the texture, movement, energy, bold brush strokes and messiness in her work.  Her style is uninhibited and free.  Carlisle portrays her own surroundings in her sketchbooks.  She mainly uses paint and creates her landscapes with strokes of freeform shapes.  At times she will use an acrylic marker to create a line drawing over the painted layers.

A topic I would like to explore in my sketchbooks is landscapes.  A sketchbook should be a place where you feel free to make bad and ugly drawings, which most likely will be the case when I attempt landscapes.  The good thing is that you can improve the more you practice and there is no better place to do this than your sketchbook.  Using your sketchbook to challenge yourself is one of my goals.   Emma Carlisle’s website:   https://www.emmacarlisle.com

5.    Alice and Martin Provensen

Alice and Martin Provensen were a husband and wife illustration team who shaped the imagination of many children after World War 2.  The classic Golden Books such as The Color Kittens, The Fussy Duckling and children’s versions of Aesop’s Fables (Shakespeare) and the Iliad and the Odyssey are a few of many colourful and popular books they created between 1947 and 2005.

Most recently, their work has been revived in a colourful art book, The Art of Alice & Martin Provensen, from Chronicle books (240 pages).  Inside the book are beautiful pictures restored from dozens of children’s books, magazine advertisements and their personal sketchbooks.

Following World War 2, the baby boom increased the demand for children’s books with fresh styles, which book publishers printed with improved technologies for reproducing illustrations. 

As a boy, Martin made wood carvings of animals, trolls, elves and small boats.  In the 1930s, he worked for Walt Disney on some of the early animated films that made movie history.  The biography of Martin quotes him saying that he loved the job because “Disney created an atmosphere of experimentation”. (Apatoff, 2022)

The Provensens were highly versatile in their styles.  Their sketchbooks were filled with ideas from their world travels, capturing images through quick drawings and shapes.  I especially like that areas of the sketches are line drawings without colour (black and white), and other areas have colour.  This can also be seen in their finished illustrations, which consist of shapes of colour with no outline, combined with more detailed line drawings.  I would also like to explore this technique in my sketchbook.  This can be done by drawing shapes and then later adding the lines or first doing the line drawing and then later adding the colour.  I would imagine that plotting the shapes first with a brush that covers more surface area, and then adding the lines afterwards could be an efficient way of making quick sketches.

Although their sketchbook drawings look more like finished artworks than drafts, it might just be because they are very skilled in drawing.

6.    Roozeboos – Anne Roos Kleiss

Next, I have decided to research Anne Roos Kleiss.  Her sketchbooks of childlike drawings and interesting details draw your eyes in and hold your attention.  Her colours are delectable, and each page feels like a new discovery.

Kleiss draws her inspiration from everyday life.  I can learn from how she approaches mundane activities and breathes new life into them through her sketchbook.  Her work resonates with me because I like to focus on the goodness in this world through my art, and Kleiss’ illustrations look wholesome and uplifting.  It can be so easy to see the grim and negative and although it can be the truth in many scenarios, we are fortunate to also have beauty, goodness and uplifting context in our day-to-day life.

Anne Roos Kleiss tries to look at the world with a childlike curiosity.  Her work is playful, filled with colour and tells stories even through its smallest details.  She loves to capture what she sees around her in her sketchbook, and this brings her inspiration ‘kleingeluk’ (literally translated to ‘small happiness’) are themes that can often be found in her drawings. (Kleiss, 2023)

Observing her sketchbook pages, it looks like she uses coloured markers, coloured pencils, crayons, pastels and a wide range of drawing materials to create her illustrations in her sketchbook.  Her drawings are energetic with movement and texture.  It looks like she uses a moleskin sketchbook or a similar brand and takes it with her in her everyday life.  She likes to sketch people, landscapes, animals or anything that comes her way.  Her style is relaxed, and she allows herself to make mistakes without trying to correct them in her sketchbook.  She will leave a skew or wrong line as is.  This adds to her style and gives her work a unique character. 

What have I learned from observing these illustrators’ sketchbooks, and how can I apply it to my own work?

• Pablo Amargo has a sketchbook specifically to gather all his ideas, almost like an inbox.  This can be a place to collect all things that inspire you, people you admire, quotes that resonate with you, clips from the news or film reviews. You can also call this a visual diary.  It can be nice to have this all in one place.
• Writing down ideas and making little drawings is another great idea.  Pablo Amargo uses many small drawings in his sketchbooks.  It doesn’t need to make sense to others, which is great about having a sketchbook; it is for personal use.  I have this idea of drawing a grid and filling it with small drawings of whatever comes to mind at that moment.  This could be done in your ‘inbox’ sketchbook as well; instead of using words you can draw the information through little sketches.
• Although some of the artists I have explored have very orderly sketchbooks, I don’t want my ‘inbox’ sketchbook to be orderly as yet.  This should be a place of collection.  The information can then later be processed or worked with.
• I have come to realise that I need to carry a smaller sketchbook with me to make notes of ideas.  This notebook/sketchbook should be next to my bed; good ideas come to me when my mind is still, and if I don’t write them down, they are gone in the morning.
• Decorate each sketchbook cover differently, using drawings, painting, printing, stickers, found labels or paper cut-outs.
• Try to do a quick sketch instead of taking a photo.
• It’s okay to be very versatile in your style.
• Do observational drawings as a regular practice by drawing a specific object from different angles, in different mediums, close and far, different viewpoints, and different types; for instance, if you study dogs, you can draw different types of dogs.
• Think about what context you find yourself in.  Is it school holidays or winter?  How do things change around you?  How do your surroundings influence daily life?  Be observant of the news, culture, celebrations, community and sustainability.
• Sketch while travelling.  Set up a grab-and-go kit that you can take with you whenever you travel and try your best to sketch whenever you can.  It doesn’t need to be beautiful, finished drawings.  It can be small, rough and ugly drawings too.
• Try to capture the essence, movement and energy of whatever you draw.  Is the flower blowing in the breeze at the time?  Is there a sweet aroma in the air?  Use colour and mark-making to capture this.
• Collect pieces of paper such as a piece of a sweet wrapper, a parking ticket, movie tickets, the bill at a restaurant or anything that resonates with you and try to include this in your sketchbook.
• Maybe have a private sketchbook where you can express your emotions, quotes that resonate with you, inner thoughts, express your relationship with God, your concerns and fears, things you are thankful about and memories of what has been lost.
• Think of your sketchbook as a record of your artistic milestones, style and progression.  It can also be a memoir of your life and travels, a way to organise and process your ideas and a quick way of capturing them.
• Think about incorporating quick lino prints, gel or monoprints in your sketchbook.  You can use Tombow water-based ink markers to print (it doesn’t need to be an intricate process) or any other water-soluble medium for stamping.
• If you run out of space in your sketchbook, glue a fold-out piece of paper where you need more space.
• Use text as a form of ‘cross hatching’ in your drawings or cut-out pieces of newspaper for a mid-tone ‘cross hatching’ effect.
• Try to use your sketches made from shapes only and build an illustration in Adobe Illustrator. Print this out and paste it next to the original sketch to compare.
• Be diverse in your topics.  Draw and paint landscapes, the inside of an aeroplane when travelling, a coffee shop, your garden, the library and the inside of your car while waiting for children.
• A sketchbook should be where you feel free to make bad and ugly drawings.
• Try to avoid correcting your mistakes.  When you draw a line that is slightly off, leave it there and draw the correct line over it.  See how your drawing comes out.
• Use markers instead of paint-and-brush when travelling.
• Make sure to challenge yourself and try to draw something new or something you are uncomfortable with.  This way you will grow as an artist, and your chances to discover something new are much bigger.
• Try to do sketchbook pages where you only use paint, like you would do if painting on a canvas with acrylic or oil paint.  Emma Carlisle’s work inspires this.
• Try to do shapes of colour with no outline combined with more detailed line drawings.  This can be done by drawing shapes and then later adding the lines, or first doing the line drawing and then later adding the colour.  Paint areas with a brush or marker and then add the lines afterwards.  This could be an efficient way to quickly sketch and plot the proportions first.
• See the potential in mundane activities and try to breathe new life into them through your sketchbook by changing the colours, textures and maybe even drawing attention to the less important objects.

Looking at other artist sketchbook sparked a few ideas to work on in my own sketchbooks.

• Draw objects or sceneries by only using shapes.
• Draw objects or sceneries by only using line drawings.
• First use shapes and then draw a line drawing over the shapes.
• First fill in the negative space with colour, then draw a line drawing in the positive space.
• Explore mark-making with different mediums.
• Create a colour chart of your colours in different mediums such as watercolours, gouache, markers, crayons and pastels.
• I remember when doing an exercise in Key Steps in Illustration that we had to try to draw in the same style as an artist we’d chosen.  This can be a good exercise for your sketchbook, and it will be interesting to see the outcome.
• Reading about Martin Provensen’s wood-carving animals sparked an idea.  Making clay models from an object and then drawing that clay model from different angles and perspectives can be another great sketchbook exercise.

Researching well-established illustrator’s sketchbooks was inspiring and, as seen in the bullet list above, a catalyst for many ideas for my own sketchbook.  This is a very effective way of generating new ideas and staying inspired, and I will keep adding to this research.

Works Cited

Amargo, P. (2023, June 23). Pablo Amargo. Retrieved from Pablo Amargo Sketchbooks: https://www.pabloamargo.com/cuadernos-trabajo.php?pg=3

Brereton, R. (2012). Sketchbooks. London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd.

Apatoff, D. (2022, April 25). The Art of the Post. Retrieved from The Saturday Evening Post: https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2022/04/the-art-of-the-post-pictures-from-your-childhood/

Kleiss, A. R. (2023, July 12). About Anne Roos Kleiss. Retrieved from Roozeboos: https://www.roozeboos.com/about