It’s one of the most common things for an artist in public to experience. Usually you’re wrapped up in your own little world, music buzzing through your ear buds, black lines and spaces growing and morphing on your page, you’re oblivious to the person that walked up behind you and SURPRISE!
“Can I see what you’re drawing?”
“Oh, ahh – um – erm, yeah?!”
You hand it over with trepidation, anxious about the judgment that’s about to come, but there’s secretly a bit of glee bubbling around in your guts. You want to guide them to look at the one you finished last week because you feel pretty good about it, but you hold yourself back. You know that the one they’re about to find on page 3 is horrendous, and you want to reach out and lead them past it. Pages 6 and 7 are the same, but you let them look - let them come to their own conclusions. They look through the whole darn thing.
This is always a vulnerable moment for an artist. It is incredibly rare that we want every sketch in a sketchbook to be scrutinized. Frequently the pages of such a book are like a diary. They may contain idle doodles, rough ideas for more complex compositions, or be illustrative of a small moment that held unique value. The pages also contain an aesthetically unimpressive process inclusive of scribbles, unfinished thoughts, ideas that flew out with such speed that to anyone but the artist they look like a toddler’s chicken scratch. But then again, there’s an occasional gem. Without further ado, you may come to your own conclusions.
It ought to go without saying: All of the work on this page is the artist’s property, and unlawful reproduction or use is prohibited.
Spring 2013. Prototypes of a tattoo I designed for one of my very best friends, Erin. The finished product is on the next page – you can sort of see it shining through…
2013? I don’t remember much about this one. It started out as a doodle that looked like Lorde, so I went with it.
2013. An idea I never used, doodles, randomness.
This one is half way to a painting! Spring 2013
USC concert Spring 2013
New church in the Piazza of Marzamemi, Sicily, June 2015. This one was a special one! A woman came up next to me and began playing guitar and singing a tune I can no longer recall and didn’t understand when I heard it. A couple of kids were running around the piazza, and came up to see what I was drawing (much like how this blog opened, though I couldn’t understand them). I tore off a small piece of my kneaded rubber eraser and gave it to them, by which they were enthralled!
Eiffel tower, Paris, Summer 2015. This was another awesome moment. My sister Eli and I sat, sketched, and ate macaroons while we watched the sun set behind the tower.
Summer (Southern Hemisphere) 2017. This is the dive site I mapped for my divemaster certification. Still one of my favorite sites I’ve ever visited!
Winter (Southern Hemisphere) 2017 Sharks, Sharks, Sharks! A small sample of the species you can find in the waters where I lived in South Africa.
Ahh out of order! Back to 2013. Loose drawing of my gorgeous friend Lela. She’s an artist herself! – Check out her work at https://www.etsy.com/shop/NowWhatPotteryWorks?ref=listing-shop2-all-items-count#items
Summer 2013. More tattoo concept sketches.
???????? Probably 2013 or 2014 you know as well as I do!
Spring 2015. Completed during a long snowy day in my dorm room in Edinburgh.
Spring 2015. Concept sketch from an idea I had while I was reading a book. Nice, right?
Spring 2015. Taken from a moment in London, in a cafe, in a crypt, under a church. The soup was awesome. The company was better though! Miss this girl.