I promised to walk you through the spring / summer sketchbook in an earlier issue of the newsletter. It’s the first time in several years that I finished a book from front to back. This is a little glimpse into the thoughts and contents. And a little preview on how I start a new one.
Working in these books has been a huge blessing and it was profoundly changing my way to work, collect ideas and try different ideas without the pressure of producing something that has to feel finished in the first place. It’s a constant cycle of enjoying the process more than the finished work, and if i really like a single page, I might scan it and post it to Instagram. Which is honestly one of the last reasons for me to work with this platform. But more on this topic later!
Some of the more formal and silly ideas (including these walkthroughs) are borrowed / stolen from Austin Kleon. Thank you for the inspiration and the reason why I’ve picked up my old love for sketchbooks again.
I hope you enjoy the roughly 25 minutes of me talking about unfinished stuff and the occasional dad joke. I’m going to compile a list of the tools that I currently use for my sketchbooks in another issue of this newsletter.
I hope this was interesting and helpful. As always: If you have any questions, drop them in the comments!
See you in two weeks.
— Ramon
THINGS I’VE LEARNED / DISCOVERED THIS WEEK.
This is an ongoing collection of stuff that I’ve learned or discovered over the last two weeks. I’m going to keep this as a regular section in my newsletter from this issue onwards. A regular collection of stuff that caught my attention and tickled my brain, or simply proved to be useful for me.
1 - 24 HOURS IN THE CREATIVE LIFE
T followed a group of artists — musicians, chefs, designers, writers and others — throughout the course of a day, exploring the intimate moments of their lives that contribute, in ways small and large, to their creative process. By the New York Times Style magazine. A great glimpse into the daily lives of a great selection of artists in all disciplines. An incredible source of inspiration, especially as I’m personally drawn to advice by late career artists. And it’s beautifully photographed by a bunch of great folks.
2 - FILM COURAGE - BRAD RUSHING
This part of the interview with Cinematographer Brad Rushing.
And, although it’s very film-industry centric, all interviews on Film Courage (be aware that it might chop away hours and hours of your week).
This particular piece rang a bell or two, if not all of them.
"I don't care about being rich. I'd like to be self sufficient, I'd like to be secure...but I remind myself that the contract that I made with myself is that I wanted to be an artist. Simple as that. And you know what? I am."
3 - Creative Parents: how having a child changes your work
As you might know, from earlier issues of this newsletter, I’m a dad of a 1 1/2 year old boy, and maybe I even bragged a little. So naturally, I am drawn towards any piece of interview that involves kids and a creative life. It’s Nice That did a great set of interviews on this particular topic, exploring the various perspectives of parents in the creative field. Featuring: Brian Finke, Marina Willer, Amy Bennett, Andi Gáldi Vinkó, Adrian Caddy, Laxmi Hussain, Mijae Kim, Rosie Foster, Shawna X and Tom Finn. Read the piece here.
Spring & Summer sketchbook walkthrough