Your sketchbook can teach you so much more than just drawing skills. In this Draw Tip Tuesday, I’m sharing a flipthrough of my small A6 Hahnemühle Nostalgie sketchbook, filled with quick sketches, experiments, and unexpected moments.
You’ll see pages from National Urban Sketchers Day in my town Amersfoort, the Netherlands, market sketches, travel drawings, black-and-white experiments, limited palette play, and even how I handle it when a subject disappears halfway through a drawing.
Along the way I talk about what this little book taught me: the joy of working small, the creative spark that comes from limitations and going with the flow. I’ll also share a tip you can use right away to make your own sketchbook practice easier, lighter, and more fun.
Everything is interesting when you draw it, so grab your sketchbook and join me.
Sketchbook shown in this video: Hahnemühle Nostalgie sketchbook, size A6
Other resources: -Find Raul Budusan here: https://www.raulbudusan.com/ (I apologize because I completely slaughtered his name as I was recording my voice-over! It's Raul, not Paul - and I know it, but still I read it wrong out loud)
A sketchbook can teach you a lot. About drawing, of course, but also about how you see,
what you enjoy and how you respond to unexpected moments.
Welcome to Draw Tip Tuesday! My name is Koosje Koene and in today's video,
I'm sharing my A6 Hanumuna Nostalgie sketchbook.
At the end of the video, I will share some learnings that will be helpful for your own
sketchbook practice, and I'll give you a tip.
The sketchbook is small, light and easy to carry. Fits in a small bag or purse.
It starts out on National Urban Sketchers Day,
which I helped organize in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, where I live.
This is such a fun page. I followed Paul Bodisson's instructions.
He was one of the instructors that day, and he encouraged sketchers to start with
painting the sky in a bright color first, and then the rest. So much fun!
The day was a big success. About 300 sketchers took over town.
This one might be familiar. I made a Draw Tip Tuesday video in which I share the whole process.
This was a fun exercise. Drawing 4 selfies, each in 2 minutes time,
focusing on using as little line as possible. Less line with each one.
It taught me yet again that you don't need much detail to describe a face.
I love drawing on the market, so I did a bunch of drawings in a row on a Saturday.
And drawing while commuting never gets old.
Hot days in the Netherlands. I met up with a friend in Amsterdam to draw together,
and thanks to the small format of my sketchbook, I could fill quite a few pages.
When I'm waiting, I'm always happy that I have my sketchbook.
A quick drawing of a cargo bike would fill a 10 minute wait.
But then, of course, a couple came and put their bicycles right in front of my subject.
Going with the flow, I tried including their bikes in the drawing.
I had new photos taken for professional use,
and also wanted some candid photos of me as I am drawing.
So while I was being photographed, I sketched. I sketched the photographer, my coffee and
the building I could see from one of the locations where we went for the photoshoot.
I love how these are very quick and also a bit distracted drawings,
but still, they capture the subjects and because I work quickly, there is a lot of life in them.
Thinking about the upcoming hiking trip to Switzerland,
during this drawing, I kind of decided to take minimal tools there,
and choose to use only black materials.
So in the pages that followed, I tried my black and white options,
and really liked the versatility, even without color.
But then I also took out the gouache paint,
as I was drawing with friends online from a reference photo.
Kept it black and white at first, and then opted for a colorful background.
Testing one color, combined with black line.
Then playing with a limited color palette,
with some markers that I couldn't resist buying for myself.
I am really liking that one color only approach, and might explore that some more.
Oh, and there's one double page blank here, as I was going on a trip.
And would be taking a fresh blank sketchbook for it.
So what did this little sketchbook teach me?
That limitations can be exciting.
That a smaller size can make drawing feel lighter and easier.
That going with the flow, like when your subject disappears behind a parked bike,
or you get distracted, or you need to work quickly,
can actually lead to a better page.
You don't need much time, or fancy tools, or a big plan.
Just a sketchbook and the willingness to draw what's in front of you.
So here's a tip.
Next time you're waiting, or walking, or just sitting with a coffee,
pull out your sketchbook.
You will notice more.
You will learn more.
And you might surprise yourself.
Thank you for watching.
And remember, everything is interesting when you draw it.
I'll see you next week.
