October 10, 2012

Keeping a Record

It's really important to keep some sort of diary or sketchbook and I'll share a lot of my sketches and processes on this blog. My personality and my voice are rooted in the art you see in my sketchbook; it's where I begin. Yet, unlike me, you don't always have to share your sketches with others. 

I find that a lot of times people get caught up with this whole misconception that your sketchbook has to be epic or something. This may happen a lot because when you're first starting out and looking to get advice or inspiration from seasoned artists you look through their sketchbooks and get overwhelmed at how good they are even with their rough doodles. Here is the thing you should not forget: They have been doing art much longer than you and probably have way more experience than you so do not get intimidated.

Everyone starts out at ground zero and blossoms at their own pace. No one person is the same. Have fun in your sketchbook and experiment. Make mistakes, have horrible pages, but never ever tear them out. Keep them in there as a record so you can see what to correct and afterwards you can look back at those pages and see how much you have improved.

In this digital age people can get caught up real fast with a new stylus, a new app, and new software...yes, I think these are all great. But there is still something permanent about the sketchbook: It's about having something physical to flip thru, yours to control, yours to do whatever you want to do with it, it's about making a decision to share it or not.

For all of you who are starting out, please don't ever feel intimated but instead be inspired. Work in your sketchbook, have fun, and make mistakes. When you're ready, then start sharing it with the world but never feel like you always have to perform for someone because that will only set you back and as artists we always want to move forward.

Have a great day and here are some of my daily sketches, the good, the bad, and the so so.

-Patrick

 

 













4 comments:

C.Deboda said...

Amen brutha! Preach!

I'll stop tearing out bad sketchbook pages...starting tomorrow!

Barney Joseph said...

Thanks for the advice. It makes a lot of sense! Will follow through on this :)

Patrick Ballesteros said...

Chris-THanks man and dont do it!

Barney-Not a problem, hope it works out for you!

Sewicked said...

I saw a wonderful graph about art vs perception. Your skill as an artist is a sine wave, never getting worse, but sometimes on a plateau.

Your eye for art also is on a sine wave, that gradually improves and sometimes hits a plateau.

You start out and you are so impressed with how good you are. Then, it seems like you're getting worse, not better. It's really that you are getting better at seeing good art.

Eventually, your skill outstrips your eye again and you can see improvement. And the cycle repeats.

Maybe you're not great (not yet) but also, you're not as bad as you think you are. You're just more perceptive.