sketching on the go

 Friends...the first thing is...I'm not sure if anyone even reads my blog anymore; I haven't been here in forever!!! Despite my best efforts to keep a regular blogging schedule, I've fallen off the wagon due to 101 reasons. It's not that I don't have a ton of stuff to write about (because I absolutely do) but life just kept on cropping up. Also...I think that sometimes we just need a break, a place and space to rest and replenish until we feel ready. And it's not that I haven't been painting, creating and writing (Hop on over to my Instagram feed) ...just not here for some reason!
Anyways...I signed both Tara and me up for Bliss class by Juliette Crane (and I can't recommend it highly enough...a whole separate blog post for that!) and one of the habits I'm developing is sketching on the go. So I wanted to share what I'm learning from this process and also what's in my travel sketch kit.

Travel Sketch Kit
* 2 small sketchbooks (so I can go back and forth while pages dry). One of the sketchbooks is just a regular one for dry media...and even though I used watercolors ...I liked the effects of the buckling. If the page tore, I simply covered it up with a piece of collage...no worries! The other sketchbook is a Bee Super Deluxe for mixed media so the pages are sturdier.
* 2 small watercolor kits (a Sennelier travel one I had and a kit I made with my fave. colors)
* UHU gluestick (I ran out so next time I will definitely take a large!)
* small water cup
* a few markers
* sharpener
* Stabilo all black pencil
* a couple of ziplock bags (so important to keep watercolors in!)
* a few water-soluble oil pastels (2 whites because they can be used with other colors to vary tones and colors etc)
*collage papers
* mop type brush
* fabric throw so I can spread it out anywhere and paint/sketch
*pencil case to keep everything together

Okay...I learned so many things I wanted to share...some practical and some metaphoric.
* I didn't pack a mop brush so I used an ice cube to spread the paints! Whoa!!!!! Totally awesome and cool effects and textures. Try it...I promise you will be surprised!
* less is more. Sure...I love having all my inks and paints and....but when I have less stuff to use...it forces me to think outside the box. I used my fingers way more (which gave me a lot of very raw, emotive marks).  I didn't have a ton of colors with me so I started getting very intentional with my palette, using my white oil pastel to vary colors and tones, Also using the white of the paper a whole lot more.
* I made a ton of marks/scribbles etc that gave so much character and depth to my pages. I became very experimental and free in my mark making...most of it was going to get covered up anyways...but some of it would show through.
* I think the most important thing I learned from the entire process, though, is that it's all about the journey. It's not about the finished painting/drawing/sketch but it's about what I'm learning along the way. There is no right or wrong,...I don't have to know where the page is going...more importantly...the page doesn't have to go anywhere at all!!! I have pages that are simply full of beautiful colors, marks...a patch of graphic collage. All okay!!! 
Happy Creating!!!!

Inside my sketchbook...

I have always been fascinated by sketchbooks; it is here that we can see the artist's mind, heart and soul at work. I absolutely love peeking inside these treasure troves. I have tons of sketchbooks; many used and some brand new that I bought because they were simply beautiful. I love all kinds of sketchbooks...Canson wet media ones, expensive leather ones with paper from Italy and regular ones that are sold at Target. I love handmade papers from India, Nepal, Egypt...Inside my sketchbooks I have drawings in various stages of completion, sometimes with watercolor washes over top of graphite. I have ideas and grocery lists and to-do lists and drawings for paintings and...everything!

(an old sketchbook-2000)

On the front page of every sketchbook I write a blessing or prayer where I invite the god/goddess of creativity into my art and my writings. This is the Hindu god Nataraja who embodies the whole process of creativity. Each prayer that I write  has different words/invocations...this one says "Nataraja...Creator..Destroyer...Please bless my thoughts, my work, my creations. Work through me. Create through me with passion, love, thought. Let Mother India shine in my work" I absolutely love writing these special words because they are powerful beyond measure. I also love looking back through the years and reading them...they let me know where I have been; signposts on the journey.

                                                     (graphite and watercolor wash-2002)
This drawing with wash never turned into a painting but I absolutely love drawing...the whole process is challenging, joyful and meditative all at once. I still may paint it one day.

                                            (pen, colored pencil and graphite)

(Female Ganesha, watercolor and gouache, 18' x 24", 2006-SOLD)

This is a sketch that turned into a painting. As you can see, I changed some things from idea/sketch to completed painting but the essentials are the same. Of course not all my paintings start out as a sketch but lots of them take root here...in words, poetry, concept. Thanks so much for looking...I have enjoyed sharing this very personal and deep part of mySELF.