The Sketchbook Project 2011: Opening Reception

My friends and I went into Brooklyn Saturday (braving the wind advisory across all those bridges!) to attend The Sketchbook Project opening at the Brooklyn Art Library.

They had a great turnout! So great that when we got there with 1 1/2 hours left to the reception, only a couple of us were in line early enough to check out a sketchbook! The group of us only got to look at two sketchbooks, but it was still fun to be there, be a part of the reception and see that so many people were enjoying the project. Hopefully my friends and I will all be able to get back there when its not so packed, and we can really enjoy the sketchbooks.

As a bonus, it turns out I knew Steve, the man behind The Sketchbook Project! We were friends freshman year at Hartford Art School, then he transferred and we lost touch. Congrats to Steve and everyone else that worked hard to make The Sketchbook Project such a success!

Check out the website for sketchbook tour dates near you!

The wall of over 28,000 sketchbooks!

Looking through another artist's sketchbook.

I think her name was Jessica Meath.

Detail of Jessica Meath's book.

Check in your books!

My great friends who came to the opening with me!

I think next year all of them will be participating in

The Sketchbook Project.

The Sketchbook Project 2011

A few weeks ago I finished my entry for the Brooklyn Art Library’s Sketchbook Project 2011. The Sketchbook Project is described as a concert tour, but with sketchbooks. What a fun concept! As soon as a friend sent me the link last year, I knew I wanted to participate.

Each sketchbook has a theme. Participants were able to choose a theme (from a list of about 40), or elect to be given a random theme. I chose the theme “dirigibles & submersibles”.

Almost 30,000 people from around the world participated. The tour officially begins later this month, with a reception at the Brooklyn Art Library on February 19th, 12:00-10:00pm. Check out their website to see if the tour stops at a city near you!

After the tour, all sketchbooks become part of the permanent collection at the Brooklyn Art Library.

Here are some samples from my sketchbook. To see more, and to see thousands of other sketchbooks, try and make it to a tour date near you! Or check out participating artists here, where you can browse by name, location, and sketchbook theme.

Daily Drawing #1

Taking time to draw something new provides inspiration for new projects, and gives your mind a creative break from current ones.

I try to keep daily drawings, but sometimes its hard to find the time... or to be honest, I just get lazy. And then if I do draw, I don't take the time to scan, archive, and post it.

Completing my book for The Sketchbook Project reminded me how beneficial it is to draw something new each day, so this year I'm going to really try and keep daily drawings (or at least semi daily), and post them when I can!