Wednesday, March 18, 2009

sketchbooks

sometimes i find myself appreciating an artist's sketchbook pages as much as (or even more than) their finished work. for me there is an inherent beauty in the idea behind a sketch -- to draw without thinking too much about the result; to quickly get an idea down on paper before it is forgotten; to record something for one's own purposes, not necessarily to be seen by anyone else.

below is a small selection of sketchbook pages i have stumbled across recently. they include everything from doodles to concept drawings to works in progress... if you have any links to other sketchbook pages that you'd like to share, please do.









[andrew wyeth]




[lee25]




[joao ruas]


[louis roskosch]



[gleb solntsev]



[coey kuhn]

















[james jean]

12 comments:

  1. I think the reason we like them is becasue they represent art at its most vulnerable and exposed.
    Andrew Wyeth's are particularly poignant when half-completed - I must say.
    And I think I would genuinely be disappointed if they were ever "finished" any more than they are there.

    I think the first-time-round freedom without expectation of having to submit the result is what makes them so wonderful and expressive.

    Big fan of visual diaries and sketchbooks, in case you missed the hints.

    x

    ps. blog looks fantastic.

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  2. I agree with you on the beauty of sketches. For me it's like a personal connection with the artist, here you get to see exactly what spills from their mind, no edits, just thoughts transferred to paper. While I appreciate looking through a person's works, but it takes the art experience to another level to see what went on behind the finished piece.

    You're blog is nice, I'm looking forward to reading more.

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  3. I'm often deeply uncomfortable about people looking at my sketchbooks because they do feel a lot more personal and intimate than even the most intentionally personal and intimate of my work. That said, I do always enjoy looking at the sketchbooks of others :P

    Out of these I like the work of Gleb Solntsev particularly.

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  4. They're beautiful, but I can never keep one; I make all my fancy little books, but I'm too afraid to make a mess of the pages. I just do my sketches on plain, looseleaf pages.

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  5. i totally agree with you, sketches are much more personal and emotional, beautiful to look at<3

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  6. I guess because you won't do major plans to create a scketch, it will be the true expression of yourself. You do freely whatever you feel like, what you want. And when you plan, it's not near the uncouncious anymore. Sketches are really something very nice to see.

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  7. I agree so much, I find most of my favs on da, are from other artiest scrap pile. Sometimes simple things, are just placed so well, any extra "finishing" is just over board in my eyes

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  8. I feel the same way. Sometimes I think a thought or idea can become over-processed when working on something that is to be completed. In a sketch the thought is in it's purest form.

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  9. I agree, there is definitely something about sketchbooks which is intriguing.
    Lovely drawings, however I can't pick a favourite since they are all so nice. :)

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  10. Gorgeous feature of sketches. They vary in style, mediums and colours. They're all equally jaw-dropping and beautiful in my opinion. It's interesting to see how people who work with the traditional medium begin and to see where it ends. It's like a small journey they take the viewer on and it's very nice.

    Very intriguing and wondrous.
    I can't seem to choose which one I love the most. : )

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  11. I'm fascinated by sketches as well. It just shows a different side of the artist and what he/she can do. I find that sketches are mostly things that artists don't usually do on their finished artworks, like somebody who draws people but their sketches are full with flowers. Of course it's not always like that.

    Thanks for showing us those great sketches!!

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  12. i agree, sketchbooks always make me feel like i'm seeing a truer essence of the artist.
    something more ... primal? or rather unrefined, kind of like you're seeing the soul of the drawing or the ideas that went into it.

    If it's a sketch of a drawing that was later finished or something.

    y'know what I mean?

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