I think artists often forget about the power of the sketchbook. I know that I tend to only use my sketchbook for recording assignments and working on thumbnails and sketches for work that I've already been commissioned for. I forget to just draw or use it as a sounding board for ideas. I'm long past the trepidation that someone will see my sketchbook and, lord forbid, see that not every time that I set pen to paper to I come up with a masterpiece. But I forget to just doodle.
I've expounded before on folks to turn 'journaling' into their art form. They spend sooo much time making these 'spontaneous' books that are anything but. Pages of flotsam and ephemera that look just like everyone else's. I guess it has it's place but not, in my opinion, at the expense of creating finished works.
That being said, I think that we as artists should keep our sketchbooks handier. sketch our breakfast, our feet, the dog...whatever is in front of you. If you are a world class runner, you don't just wait on the couch between races, you practice, work out, run sprints. I would like my sketchbook to be more that way. I think if I make sure that I can draw ANYTHING in front of my, when the time comes to get paid for drawing what's in front of me there wont be anything intimidating about the process.
I'm not much into resolutions...but if I could manage to change a habit or get something done from this point on it would be to turn the trifecta of keys, wallet, and phone, into the...um...quadfecta(?) that would include my sketchbook everywhere I go. Maybe I'll even post a few pages and doodles. And then again...
