What to put into a sketchbook

Answers, but no right ones

Nov 01, 2025

“Use your sketchbook for experiments” the influencer artists say, as they flip through consistent, completely flawless sketchbook pages.

I want to dazzle you with my sketchbook too!

So, I sucked in my breath, and tried to make pretty stuff in my sketchbooks, for years.

Flipping through my try-hard sketchbooks, too many pages look like Kirkland Betsy Art™ versions of my portfolio pieces. So much of it looks too safe, stiff… enslaved to gaining approval.

New plan: My sketchbook is going to be for me. I have accepted that I won’t be impressing anyone, but I will be pushing myself, engaging with my natural world, and creating groundwork for future work. I will also be making garbage. So much garbage because that’s how I learn and grow.

Here’s a few quick plein-coffee-shop-air sketches from my recent trip to Philadelphia. Nothing to see here. It’s just me practicing my lines, my shapes, and quickly recording something that caught my eye. Hope these scratches give you confidence to make your own.

My favorite sketching material of choice is this col-erase pencil. It butters over the page and smudges less than a graphite pencil (for my fellow meticulous neat freaks).