Thanks M.D. for a fun and informative purging. I usually burn plenty of drawings and oil paintings during the springtime. I always fear they'll fall into the hands of an Art Critic years after I'm dead and they'll say, "What the hell is this crap?" It was great to see your work and the, "style" you talk about is obvious in your drawings, especially the ink work. Thanks for the invite, it was fun. Are you Canadian? ~Marty
Marty, I know it may sound silly, but I'm sincerely grateful and flattered you took the time to check this out. It means a lot, especially since I hold you and the work you do (both artful and videowise) in very high esteem. I have the same fear that my kids will one day look at my old work and think, "what the hell is this crap?" LOL! I live in the USA, outside of Boston. The weather here has been perfect for burning, more like Fall than Summer. Again, thank you for taking the time. I means a lot. Cheers! :)
I mean, if you still have them, I'd say either take photos of the drawings in there that you think have the most value and then keeping the best ones, but then throwing everything else away.
This makes me feel so much better... I always have a ton of shame around sketchbooks... around not finishing them, not doing good enough work in them, not drawing enough, etc... I'm always so ashamed of my work, but this has sort of helped me feel less ashamed...
I do something similar with sketches I want to save. Instead of getting rid of the ones I don't want, I put them in a blender and use the pulp to create more paper. I do that a few times until it's been reused so much that it can't be reused anymore.
Ah I'm glad to find somebody else that cuts out the stuff they want keep from old sketchbooks!! I usually go back once a year or two to clean up a bit. Yet I haven't thought about sticking 'em into an empty one for better storage! I'll have to make a little bit of time for that, it's a fantastic idea
Thank you! So many videos out there telling folks to keep all your old art work (everything) even if they were awful so that you can look back and enjoy how much you have grown. Though that might work for some, not so much for me. Looking back on all my epic failures does not give me inspiration. I would prefer to do what you have done and just keep all the art that I love and that will inspire me. Not to mention who has space for all those books? At some point the pile just start looking like junk. So thank you for the awesome advice.
Great minds think alike. I did exactly the same thing with my stack of old sketchbooks. Not only is it a great way to consolidate old work and purge unneeded stuff, but it's also fascinating to view one's older work.
That's a great idea. I guess you could also use a scrapbook for the saved drawings. As someone who also like to make paper, i would transform the scraps into new sheets.
Hi Charissa Troup! You know, I never even thought of creating new sheets - no experience in doing that. But, what a great idea. And yes, I used to buy inexpensive photo books and keep my art in them. However, sometimes, especially with cheap photo books, that sticky/tacky glue would come through over time and ruin the drawing. I'm actually curious to see how time treats these with the glue sticks! Fingers crossed! The good news is that I scanned in all the artwork, so I have it all digitally, should I ever need it. Thank you for checking out the video, but more so for you thoughtful comment! Cheers! :)
I would have sold them to the highest bidder. You may not see the importance of some work but others may draw inspiration or just really enjoy looking at art no matter what level of completion. Lots of info there. Enjoyed the cringe of unloading, lol.
I would love to do that but my mother loves to keep all of my old drawings/sketchbooks even the ones that have chicken scratches from when i was 5. But this is such a nice idea and sort of freeing in a way. Love it
As a pack rat this video gave me a great way to cut down on the excess with regards to my sketches, and a way to have a sketchbook that's literally a representation of my art journey. Thank you for this video.
I like to collage my sketchbooks. I will paste all kinds of memorabilia, photos, ticket stubs, swatches of fabric, pretty papers or foils that I cut out of packaging, etc. It's fun and creative and I can reuse my old books as well as keeping the stuff I like and collage around it.
Sounds like you really have a great time and get to re-use your older stuff. I may have to explore that, myself! Thank you, Barbara LeBlanc! Great idea! ;)
As an archivist and preservationist, I find this horrifying. Sometime we know about human history from the "trivial" things that by chance survived destruction, like letters. These things are more honest than official records which are often tainted by politics. So they fill several boxes. Big deal. I find this a terrible idea.
You're entitled to your opinion, of course, and that's fine for you. However, the words "archivist" and "preservationist" sound like fancy ways of saying "hoarder" and "can't let go of the past," which to me is horrifying. Saving every little scribble and scrap of paper I did when I was a teenager or in my 20's, to me, is not about human history, but more about me, as an individual, and to save that stuff beyond 30 years, again in my opinion, is a terrible idea. Waste of space, clutter for my mind, and potentially a fire hazard as the paper was old and very brittle. What you are discounting, Henry, is the positive, spiritual experience this held for me. I'll take that 100,000 times over worrying about human history based on my scribbles, any day. I respect your opinion, but I don't agree with it. Cheers. ;)
I'm getting back into doing some art after 10 years of mostly writing. In looking through some old sketchbooks I was surprised how something that seemed terribly flawed back then, seems surprisingly good now. How much space do the sketchbooks take up? Several cubic feet? That's trivial. And brittle paper is not a hazard unless it's a material which my spontaneous ignite (like the old nitro cellulose movie film stock from a hundred years ago.) But if you get something spiritual from it, then that's your thing. Destruction doesn't do anything spiritual for me. I've seen too many landmark building with amazing artistry torn down and replaced with just giant plain boring box shapes. Oh well. It's your thing.
Just tacking on the end of this, I watched with both envy and cringe! I am 24, would not say I have a style at this point, so I'm eager to visit your other video, but as far as I know I have two large storage boxes containing just my sketchbooks. By large, I mean about 50x50x60cm? And that's *just* sketchbooks. I can see by my difficulty watching this that I'm not quite ready to purge, but also feel as if I now have that option, so thank you for sharing! Although, I do feel you've wasted some money opportunities with some of those sketches!
You had a lot of empty pages, which is normal but I would've made more journals with the combined empty pages. That's just me tho....i did love how you made a book from your favorite sketches.
If I were to make a video with this same title, the approach would be very similar to yours. I have not been filling journals and sketchbooks as long as you but I have always purged my work periodically. I can't understand what people get from hoarding a lifetime of output that they wouldn't necessarily stand behind today. For me, this reviewing, cutting and sticking process comes from an interest in the cut-up technique of Gysin and Burroughs. btw If you were into art journalling, you would probably start hanging on to even those tiny waste bits and worked on scraps, pasting them in an art journal, paint, scribble, stamp and stencil over them and finish off with a favourite quotation lol! I have to steal myself to even put a sweet wrapper in the bin some days!
Great idea! I usually just quickly flip through and end up tossing the whole thing in the recycling bin. I see old drawings as mileage I need to cover, I don't think too much on it and always try to fill up sketchbooks cover to cover :)
Thank you, Eve! I agree about the old drawings. I never really thought too much on it, either, until those boxes of sketchbooks started piling up. I went into my basement one day, before making this video, looking for one sketchbook in particular. It took me nearly an hour to find the right one, which is why I decided to purge! lol! Since making this video, I have referred to that consolidated sketchbook a dozen times. I also found another box full of sketchpads that I forgot I had. A lot of more fine art drawings, mostly from my art school years! Oh boy! :)
The letter "D" is cool, that looks like an interesting project. That lemon/ motorcycle is cool, machines and mechanical things are my weakness, ha! That's a good idea to take out the drawings and give away the sketchbooks with paper with them. That flipbook is trippy. I liked those deco -cats. Oh...so you paste them together in a new book, very cool. I think I am going to do that with some of my books too. Thanks.
Thank you, Scot! Funny, I refer to the "new" consolidated sketchbook WAY more often now than I did any of the other books that sat in boxes for years. So glad I did this project! Cheers!
Cool project! I have a bunch of sketchbooks & might do something similar, or may just take out the drawings that didn't "come out" to anything! What did you do with the flipbook doodles?
i had a boxful of journals so i spent about a week flipping through a decade’s time capsule. it was a different person who had created them so i tore out the compostable pages and added them to my garden compost 👩🌾 and just binned the rest. letting go of the past gives me more breathing space to grow 😉
Love this video and concept ... Only thing I wished is that you glued those pieces chronologically, instead of by size, it had given us a glimpse of how art improves over time... But then there are loads of video on that already.... Wonderful concept of preserving old artwork.... Going to follow it myself...
Thank you for this! At times I have wondered why I am buying and filling up all of these sketchbooks, and what should I do with them. I only started drawing in sketchbooks this year, so I only have a few, but it has been in the back of my mind. I really like your idea and appreciate this video very much!
Amy, you are so kind! Thank you! It's one of those "projects" you tell yourself you want to do every year, but never get to it. I found opportunity and so glad I did. I'm also glad I chose to record it, though it was a bit of a challenge! lol! My studio space was a disaster for the past two weeks! Thank you again. I appreciate you very much! :)
This was fun to watch!!! Wow you've been deawing since before I was born hahahaha your style shines in all your pieces. You've got a little time travel machine right there in that new sketchbook.
Every year, I try to fill out a sketchbook, because I always fill my notes and notebooks filled with drawings. I go all the way back of the last few pages of my sketchbook and fill up the year worth of doodles and glue them down :)) Glad to know I'm not the only one!! (I usually fill my sketchbook up a bit, but I always have a problem finishing the last few pages so it helps me out)
Oh my gosh! This is utter madness to me! I am absolutely a hoarder but also have a garbage memory so this is like.... Dang, man... I almost feel anxious at the idea of ever even trying to consolidate down my sketchbooks. =o_o= You're a much braver person than I.
Great idea for purging your old sketchbooks! I do that with magazines that have techniques or samples of projects I want to try out later. Had so many many magazines I had to quit getting them because I had trouble parting with them!
Hi paulage1art! I am like you in that regard. I used to clip the little artsy drawings from the New Yorker and save them, but found I rarely actually looked at them. My local library sells stacks of old magazines for 25¢, so whenever the New Yorkers are available, I'll buy them and instead just clip out the covers. I have a large assortment of covers to flip through that I just love! :) Thank you so much for checking this out and again, for your wonderful thoughts! Cheers!!! :)
I myself have never done much serious work in sketchbooks. I have bought them, put a few drawings in the first few pages and they get left behind. Part of the many reasons for this is that I always feel that drawing in a book traps the art away from everyone and no one will ever see it. But with the pandemic, I am on RUclips a lot and see people recording "sketchbook tour" videos which seems like a great way to let the art out into the world where people can see it. And some will draw in their sketchbook, and then post them on social media, so it is a way to share them and even monetize them. So I am rethinking all this for myself. I too burn a lot of my artwork. I moved from one city to another and back again, and didn't want to pack around the old art. I found the purging process going both directions to be extremely emotional but very good for me. Making art is always a growth process, and the art will change over time, not always for the better. So not all the practice work is worthy of archiving, but can be interesting to trace your steps through time, so some has value, but certainly not all of it.
Once I got over the shock of actually discarding something I created, I think I would have to say a quiet thank you and say goodbye to those less than stellar, not still inspiring pieces - thank them for joining me in the journey. I guess I'm a little silly like that. Even my scribbles seem to be a piece of me and helped to make me "more me" than I was before I scribbled them. Overly sentimental? Perhaps. I'm an utter loss with photos. The one thing about digital that helps me - I can say good bye to it before I become attached to it once it becomes physical. But my pre-digi photos, even discarding multiple duplicates - loved ones who have passed and I find the photos I sent them of my family growing up are now finding their way back to my home. And I'm not too sure my children want them taking up space in their homes. Being part of the "sandwich" generation LOL...I'm getting smooshed. And have to learn to let them go.
I completely understand, Laura Dains. As a young man, I held onto everything, even fortunes from cookies! When I moved one year, I started tossing things away. The liberation was so freeing, I was addicted! Of course, I miss things, like my airbrushes, two small sculptures I made when I worked in a steel shop, and a sketchbook filled with drawings of a woman I'd loved. But, I often think letting go is natural and helps me separate periods of my life. I totally agree with photos. At one point, my mom gave me a folder full of photos, drawings, and early published pieces she'd been saving. I was amazed she kept them, but she just didn't know what to do with them. Ironically, I still have them, as I couldn't part with them. lol!! Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It's a treat to have such great conversation. Cheers! :)
Wonderful idea. I am doing my first "sketch book" on printer paper in a binder using page protectors. As stated in a comment on another video I neglected large aspects of learning arts and getting into new things like drawings so when I later want to save pieces more this is a wonderful way to do so thank you
Oooh Mark! I'm doing therapy against depression and a part of me is a huge junk collector. As part of my therapy I've decided to collect all bits and bobs of sketches made in loose paper, those ones that are from 5 to 10 years old, and I'm doing the same as you are: cutting them to size and glueing the pieces to a book (except mine has black paper hehe). It's going to be a long process for me because I have a loooot of folders and boxes with scraps and loose sketches. Feels refreshing to watch this video and remind myself that I have to tackle down some more of my leftovers :)
Thank you, KiwiCakeful! It's not for everyone, but for me, it gave me a wonderful book that helped reduce space and give me a single source to revisit my older work. Best wishes! ~ Mark
Thank you, Jazzy Chihuahua. I agree that this is definitely not something for everyone, nor would I recommend it for everyone. Having SO many sketchbooks that date back years was cumbersome. I'm glad I did it and looking through the final book, now, it all works for me and no regrets, whatsoever. Thanks again! Cheers! :)
Beyond impressed with your ingenuity! I plan on buying a cheap sketchbook soon to do this now. Thank you for a great video. It was fun and inspiring to watch you at work, and see how unique your talent is! Namaste
Thanks. I modified the idea to suite me and stuck what I wanted to keep in an old presentation portfolio instead of using glue. Sure feels good to get that sorted out.
This is a great idea! Thanks!... Quite often I feel like being creative and don't know what to do with myself when I don't actually have the energy to doodle etc. ... however I really like this idea as a project I can pick up and put down as often as need be without loosing creative energy ... if anything I feel it will help create more inspiration for me! Thanks again! 😊
Yeah, I'm an avid recycler in my routine life, but this was specifically intended to be a more personal experience, which it was. I don't think my little burning of a bunch of sketchbooks is going to dramatically impact the environment, especially because it was just old paper-based items - no plastics or toxic chemicals. I mean, I see more pollution coming from neighborhood leaf burnings, so I'm not too concerned about this.
This is so great, I did a similar process with sketchbooks, so I'll have the blank pages to use. Now all the images are lying in a drawer, because I wanted to stick them in one notebook chronologically, but now I understand that it doesn't matter, I'll just pick the ones I like, sort them by size and glue them all together, doesn't matter when which was drawn, as long as they're all in one book :) Thank you for informative video!
Thank you, liliasheart! I appreciate your feedback so much, and I'm grateful for your time watching. I was originally going to try to keep things chronological, but once I got going it became more about just fitting them all in! lol! For me, I can easily tell which drawings are from what era of my life, which is good as I'm getting old! hehe!!! Cheers!
Hello, I'm here from watching you on The Mind of Watercolor. You're an inspiration. I will be going through all your videos to get caught up. Thank you for your advice. Yes, I subscribed too. Hugs!
Hi Connie Krueger! Thank you so much for checking the channel out, but also for your thoughtful comment! Sorry if I was a total nerd on The Mind of Watercolor - I was super nervous! lol! I had a blast and I'm so grateful for all the connections I've made on RUclips. Glad to be connected! Thank you again, and cheers! :)
Great video Mark! 😁 I love this idea...I will show hubby as he is the one with a ton of sketch books. 😉 I also love the idea of burning the pages you are done with. You are releasing the creative energies back into the world for all of the artists to tap into. 😃 I know it would be a ton more work, but it would be awesome to put the saved drawings in order by year. 😉 I would also save the thick cardboard/chip board covers from the sketch books you are burning. You can use those boards to make custom sketchbooks for yourself. There are some awesome book binding videos on youtube. Awesome sketchbook ideas Mark, tfs! 😁
Thank you for checking out the video and for such kind thoughts, Valerie! Funny, my original intention was to preserve the timeline of my original sketchbooks, but there were so many without dates, it got a little crazy! lol! Great idea, too, about the bindings! Wish I'd thought of that pre-burning! Cheers! ;)
I have several sketchbooks full with artwork, but have no idea how to display it. I also love how you de-cluttered your sketchbooks, I've done the same thing and began anew
I agree Elli Maanpaa Art. I kept putting it off and putting it off, but really needed the space, so the timing was excellent! Thank you so much for checking it out and leaving your thoughts! :)
I think it's very interesting what you do with the old sketchbooks. Me personally am horrible with keeping a sketchbook and so with that, I actually don't use sketchbooks. I use the tear away pads with sketch paper and when I am done with my sketch, it goes into a plastic bin that is wonderful and holds up to a 9X12 sheets nicely. It's the most common size I use but everything goes into that. It's almost full so I need a new one. I just keep all the old sketches I do and just stick it all in that bin.
I do also cut out little scribbles I did from years ago (mostly my time in school etc.) and some time ago I put them into a a5 sized clear bag in a folder along with small loose sketches. I have boxes full of old stuff. Can't burn them as I don't have the means to but i do slowly fotograph them and get rid of the photographed ones. Some of the paper after 10 or 20 years is starting to disintegrate in spots and is a major attraction for critters so I am recycling a lot right now. With small sized scanners and smartphones nowadays there's just no need to keep this much paper around.
Thank you, Steel Phoenyx! It's not for everyone and it does consume quite a bit of time, but I must admit, it was SO worth it, for me. Now, since I made this video, I've got about six full sketchbooks to contend with! It's all starting again! lol!! Cheers and thank you for your time watching! :)
M.D. Campbell I can see where it would be worth the time. I recently started playing with bookbinding and used the blank pages left over from old sketchbooks as sheets for the new books… a great way to consolidate the remains of several books into one.
15 sketchbooks of mine... now in 2 2.5 inch binders and one is 3/4ths full. Saved myself a whole shelf and I think I have to purge a few more sketchbooks soon, just need another binder. Also a day to set aside to do so.
With this month being inktober I'm binging on all your videos as I love your art style. Any tips on how to grow ones art style or find your art style because I seem to just have lots of art styles... It's frustrating. I want my own art style but I don't know how to get there.
Very nice. I plan on doing the same. I have a lot of stuff I need to compile, just because it's taking up too much room! It turned out to be so much fun watching all your sketchbooks though, thanks for the video.
Hi Usagi Kuma! Thank you for taking the time to check it out and for your kind words. I can't recommend consolidating sketchbooks, enough. It's not for everyone, but for me, it was a complete liberation and, as I mentioned in the video, it freed up a lot of space for other things! Have a great day and again, thank you! Cheers! :)
What a fantastic idea!! I looked at some of my old stuff not long ago and was amazed I had drawn those things and why don't I draw with that ease anymore? I will definitely do this. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Kirsten! It's very liberating, to be honest, but some folks have commented that they'd be too afraid to let go. I took a chance and it paid off. I am still completely happy I did this! Problem now? I might have to do it again! lol! :)
I have several unfinished books set aside for *consolidation* and appreciated seeing your method. the one thing that made me cringe was the loss of dates and context. I also realize that I am using much better paper these days. not sure I want to go back to using what I did in the past. Not just cheaper paper, but AGED cheap paper. 😒
Hi Rachel Kopel and thanks for both watching and leaving your thoughts. omg. The paper I used when I was young is the same paper I see in the retail stores and walk right passed, now. Amazing what you learn over time. I will say, with regard to date and context, that I am lucky, I guess, because I can look at any drawing that I saved and know exactly when I did it, where I was sitting, who was around me, etc. The linework - for me - reveals the timestamp and it's crazy, but if I look at a silly doodle that had a certain style of crosshatching, I can say, with full recollection, "I did that when I was teaching middle school kids in 1992 in the break room when this guy Tom used to watch me draw and be so amazed while he ate glazed donut holes that he always got all over the table and never cleaned up!" LOL!!! Maybe I've got a weird memory. Anyhow, thank you again and be well! :)
Even though you flipped through the second sketchbook quick, I appreciated the Beatles nods in there! :D I'm actually working on a massive project myself right now -- I bought that 600 page sketchbook that a lot people are doing the Sketchbook Slam challenge with (which no, I'm not doing that with it lol) and made my own challenge that every single thing going into that book is going to be Beatles related....it'll either be them, an illustration of lyrics, anything to do with Yellow Submarine or the cartoon series, their spouses/kids/pets/whatever -- it just all has to tie back to the band in some way, shape, or form. (It's one subject matter I know I won't get bored with. ;)) My only regret is the paper quality isn't better, so it severely limits what mediums I can use in there.....and as such, there's still some Beatles artwork happening in other sketchbooks too, LOL. (I'm in the middle of a psychedelic Let It Be watercolor piece in one of my watercolor pads as we speak. ;))
You could have signed and sold your old prints to your fans! This way they could have a token of your past and you would make a few extra dollars. Love the out-takes! 😊
Never had to much to save but I've done cutouts and glued them over pages that didn't turn out for me. Also on on a few pages, since I'm old fashioned, i used the old black glue down corners they used to use for pictures to cover pages I didn't like. That way what ever I'm using, mainly the front cover for a card, can be removed and used since it is not damaged by glue, should I change my mind. Take care of the new book you created, its a great idea and loaded with your history. Thanks for the video.
Fantastic!! Found you via rewatching the livestream chat between you, Steve Owings and Steve Mitchell of The Mind of Watercolor), and so glad I did. Was a wonderful video and I left a long comment there, much of what you said had a big impact. So I'll be watching more - new subscriber :).
I'm delighted that you came across the video. It was so generous and kind to be included by Steve & Marty, two artists I admire beyond words and even beyond their skills - just two, really amazing guys that I'm fortunate to have met in my life. Thank you so much for checking out this channel and leaving such kind thoughts. Cheers! :)
Nice, though I've long since abandoned sketchbooks in favor of a clip board and loose sheets. Anything I want to keep can then be put into page protectors and added to a binder.
What a great idea.....I’m moving into a smaller space which will be a combination studio and living space so years of artistic accumulation must be purged.....so hard to part with old art.....mraz
hi did you have dates on your pass sketches .i feel its great to see how long a go i did a particular sketch that i really like now but probably did not when i did sketch
Omg I need to do this. I doodle or draw botanicals have done since I was a kid but I'm also a hoarder and when I look at old stuff I just think why am I keeping this so I'm just going to keep what I'm proud off and bin the rest
I’ve been trying to figure out good ways to put all my decent drawings in one book and get rid of my practice scribbles! Why did i never think of this?? 😱
Thank you so much, Megan, for the comment and watching. I'm glad you enjoy my humor (not everyone does... especially my kids! lol!) It was a tremendous feeling of satisfaction and because I love the outdoors and a good fire, it was a very personal experience for me. Glad I did it! :D
I certainly do enjoy! ... your kids will eventually 'get it'!!? lol .... yes I can imagine that sense of satisfaction of 'purging' the past and creating something 'new' from it - and I too love a good outdoors fire! It is very personal; my brother recently did similar .... and I am inspired to do so too, and have started on a massive 'purging'/declutter' process, to make way for the new, to 'rediscover' some forgotten things from the past, learn from it, and move onwards with this knowledge i hope! Thank you again for your inspiration and I know you felt more comfortable behind the scenes, but you are a 'natural' and a wonderful joy to watch - its amazing what we can discover and do when we sometimes step outside of our 'comfort zones' :)
I always found it hard to draw something without a reference photo. Do you think as I draw more and more I'll be able to? I remember in high school there was this girl in my art class that sat next to me and her drawings were unbelievable. She could pull out dragons and fairies and mythical creature just...out of head!!!! I still can't do that, but then again I put my drawing passion away for quite a few years. I wonder how far I could be now if I had just kept up with it. But that's a different story. Now I sit and wonder is this something you can truly learn? Will I be able to draw things out of my imagination without always having to look at a picture? Or is this just my " style" and that's how it will always be?
Your comments are timely. You're in for a treat in my video for next week which discusses this exact topic. I would say that if you're just getting back into the swing of drawing, start with the basics. Draw what's around you, get familiar with the tools, and become comfortable so that it's not a chore, but more like swimming where it just feels so good to immerse into something you love. Then, the imaginative part will come, once you're comfortable. :)
Funny how I saw this video as I was sitting and going through my own old sketchbooks. But my version is still, keep it all, but scan and keep digitally the best and inspiring ones in a folder on the PC. :D Easier to find and look at. But then I don't have too big piles of old sketch books yet. :3 I'll come one day maybe. :P
Actually, I did that first, so I would have them in case anything should happen to the originals. Still, having access to the work and tangibly feel, see, and even smell them is important to me. Glad I have them in both formats! Cheers! :)
nice idea to put all this drawings in one sketchbook.... for me .. i cut the drawing and stick it in a new clean page and draw something around it .. and for the used paper ,you can draw on the other side
Hi Azalia P! Thank you so much for both checking out the video and the kind words. I will say that now I've let go of all those old sketchbooks, I've got so much more storage space! I had no idea! And of course, I recently found another box of sketchbooks in my basement I'd forgotten about! LOL!! Thanks again and cheers! :)
aww thank you so much for commenting back! well, I have the exact same problem too! I thought I was the only one who deals with a lot of old sketchbooks and not knowing what to do with them, at one point I wanted to throw them away but at the other point i felt guilty letting go all of my drawings. but i guess by doing what you've done, it could solve 2 of my problems at once, getting rid of old an irrelevant artworks and also getting so much space for new ones!!! thanks once again :) Have a great day, and cheers from Indonesia!
Thank you for telling me that 14 minutes is too long. I'm still learning and it's good to have insightful feedback, especially about time - I feel the same way as you! Thank you for subscribing, too. It means more than I can express. I'll try to bring a different kind of content to my channel that you hopefully enjoy! Best wishes! :)
I did the same thing recently, with my childhood art. I'm only 23 so lol not That many years of clutter but still. I also burned my old journals because they were filled with unpleasant memories and its not anything I want discovered hundreds of years from now!!!
🙄 What is it with men and burning stuff? Personally, I'm not a drawist. As a sculptor, I find I use my sketchbooks very differently, which is, of course, to make 2D mockups, build armatures sometimes or figure out which projects I want to do are most practical or exciting to me; do some project journaling and sort thoughts out of my head. Lately, I have been working a little more 2D, designing lineworks in my sketchbook and then using them to design cross-stitch patterns. I'm a mere babby artist compared to you, but of course I know the face-palmage of half-filled sketchbooks. However, I say this now as someone who officially does not draw, I can't imagine filling a small library worth of sketchbooks. This is an awesome idea though.
I did scan all the art (which I should've mentioned in the video), so I have it all digitally archived, but for me, there's something I love about the tangible artwork. Each little piece has a unique texture, the way the ink or pencil laid down, and even the smell (that old book smell), which I wouldn't want to give up. It's also portable, so I can bring it with me to the school I teach at and share with students, though they might get bored pretty quickly! lol! :)
Thanks M.D. for a fun and informative purging. I usually burn plenty of drawings and oil paintings during the springtime. I always fear they'll fall into the hands of an Art Critic years after I'm dead and they'll say, "What the hell is this crap?" It was great to see your work and the, "style" you talk about is obvious in your drawings, especially the ink work. Thanks for the invite, it was fun. Are you Canadian? ~Marty
Marty, I know it may sound silly, but I'm sincerely grateful and flattered you took the time to check this out. It means a lot, especially since I hold you and the work you do (both artful and videowise) in very high esteem. I have the same fear that my kids will one day look at my old work and think, "what the hell is this crap?" LOL! I live in the USA, outside of Boston. The weather here has been perfect for burning, more like Fall than Summer. Again, thank you for taking the time. I means a lot. Cheers! :)
I have an issue with getting rid of my old art because it has such sentimental value to me.
Then don’t get rid of it. Its good to look back at it and see how far you came. :)
Find a way to store them.
I mean, if you still have them, I'd say either take photos of the drawings in there that you think have the most value and then keeping the best ones, but then throwing everything else away.
same the ugly FNAF fanart I made at age 10 is integral to my growth
This makes me feel so much better... I always have a ton of shame around sketchbooks... around not finishing them, not doing good enough work in them, not drawing enough, etc... I'm always so ashamed of my work, but this has sort of helped me feel less ashamed...
I do something similar with sketches I want to save. Instead of getting rid of the ones I don't want, I put them in a blender and use the pulp to create more paper. I do that a few times until it's been reused so much that it can't be reused anymore.
You can do that with a blender?
Great idea
Such a fantastic idea! You are quite a prolific sketcher, so that pile of old books alone was impressive and I love the final book you put together.
Thank you so much, Steve! In all sincerity, your words mean more than you know! Best wishes, always! :)
Ah I'm glad to find somebody else that cuts out the stuff they want keep from old sketchbooks!! I usually go back once a year or two to clean up a bit.
Yet I haven't thought about sticking 'em into an empty one for better storage! I'll have to make a little bit of time for that, it's a fantastic idea
Thank you so much for watching and for your generous feedback, Shion! Stay well! :)
It always feels good to wipe the slate clean and start anew. And i love your comment about putting that energy back into nature
Thank you! So many videos out there telling folks to keep all your old art work (everything) even if they were awful so that you can look back and enjoy how much you have grown. Though that might work for some, not so much for me. Looking back on all my epic failures does not give me inspiration. I would prefer to do what you have done and just keep all the art that I love and that will inspire me. Not to mention who has space for all those books? At some point the pile just start looking like junk. So thank you for the awesome advice.
Great minds think alike. I did exactly the same thing with my stack of old sketchbooks. Not only is it a great way to consolidate old work and purge unneeded stuff, but it's also fascinating to view one's older work.
Love it, Mark! I know, for me, it was a liberating experience, and something I may have to do again soon! :O
That's a great idea. I guess you could also use a scrapbook for the saved drawings. As someone who also like to make paper, i would transform the scraps into new sheets.
Hi Charissa Troup! You know, I never even thought of creating new sheets - no experience in doing that. But, what a great idea. And yes, I used to buy inexpensive photo books and keep my art in them. However, sometimes, especially with cheap photo books, that sticky/tacky glue would come through over time and ruin the drawing. I'm actually curious to see how time treats these with the glue sticks! Fingers crossed! The good news is that I scanned in all the artwork, so I have it all digitally, should I ever need it. Thank you for checking out the video, but more so for you thoughtful comment! Cheers! :)
I would have sold them to the highest bidder. You may not see the importance of some work but others may draw inspiration or just really enjoy looking at art no matter what level of completion. Lots of info there. Enjoyed the cringe of unloading, lol.
I would love to do that but my mother loves to keep all of my old drawings/sketchbooks even the ones that have chicken scratches from when i was 5. But this is such a nice idea and sort of freeing in a way. Love it
As a pack rat this video gave me a great way to cut down on the excess with regards to my sketches, and a way to have a sketchbook that's literally a representation of my art journey. Thank you for this video.
I like to collage my sketchbooks. I will paste all kinds of memorabilia, photos, ticket stubs, swatches of fabric, pretty papers or foils that I cut out of packaging, etc. It's fun and creative and I can reuse my old books as well as keeping the stuff I like and collage around it.
Sounds like you really have a great time and get to re-use your older stuff. I may have to explore that, myself! Thank you, Barbara LeBlanc! Great idea! ;)
As an archivist and preservationist, I find this horrifying. Sometime we know about human history from the "trivial" things that by chance survived destruction, like letters. These things are more honest than official records which are often tainted by politics.
So they fill several boxes. Big deal. I find this a terrible idea.
You're entitled to your opinion, of course, and that's fine for you. However, the words "archivist" and "preservationist" sound like fancy ways of saying "hoarder" and "can't let go of the past," which to me is horrifying. Saving every little scribble and scrap of paper I did when I was a teenager or in my 20's, to me, is not about human history, but more about me, as an individual, and to save that stuff beyond 30 years, again in my opinion, is a terrible idea. Waste of space, clutter for my mind, and potentially a fire hazard as the paper was old and very brittle. What you are discounting, Henry, is the positive, spiritual experience this held for me. I'll take that 100,000 times over worrying about human history based on my scribbles, any day. I respect your opinion, but I don't agree with it. Cheers. ;)
I'm getting back into doing some art after 10 years of mostly writing. In looking through some old sketchbooks I was surprised how something that seemed terribly flawed back then, seems surprisingly good now. How much space do the sketchbooks take up? Several cubic feet? That's trivial. And brittle paper is not a hazard unless it's a material which my spontaneous ignite (like the old nitro cellulose movie film stock from a hundred years ago.) But if you get something spiritual from it, then that's your thing. Destruction doesn't do anything spiritual for me. I've seen too many landmark building with amazing artistry torn down and replaced with just giant plain boring box shapes. Oh well. It's your thing.
I wonder how many here might be inspired by this to do a purge, only for 30 years later be kicking themselves "OMG, what the hell was I thinking?"
Just two. ;)
Just tacking on the end of this, I watched with both envy and cringe! I am 24, would not say I have a style at this point, so I'm eager to visit your other video, but as far as I know I have two large storage boxes containing just my sketchbooks. By large, I mean about 50x50x60cm? And that's *just* sketchbooks. I can see by my difficulty watching this that I'm not quite ready to purge, but also feel as if I now have that option, so thank you for sharing! Although, I do feel you've wasted some money opportunities with some of those sketches!
You had a lot of empty pages, which is normal but I would've made more journals with the combined empty pages. That's just me tho....i did love how you made a book from your favorite sketches.
Thanks Jamoky!
If I were to make a video with this same title, the approach would be very similar to yours. I have not been filling journals and sketchbooks as long as you but I have always purged my work periodically. I can't understand what people get from hoarding a lifetime of output that they wouldn't necessarily stand behind today. For me, this reviewing, cutting and sticking process comes from an interest in the cut-up technique of Gysin and Burroughs. btw If you were into art journalling, you would probably start hanging on to even those tiny waste bits and worked on scraps, pasting them in an art journal, paint, scribble, stamp and stencil over them and finish off with a favourite quotation lol! I have to steal myself to even put a sweet wrapper in the bin some days!
Listening to the outtakes at the end was fun. Great video.
haha! Glad you enjoyed this one, Silver Phoenix! Thank you for watching and commenting. I had fun on this.
Great idea! I usually just quickly flip through and end up tossing the whole thing in the recycling bin. I see old drawings as mileage I need to cover, I don't think too much on it and always try to fill up sketchbooks cover to cover :)
Thank you, Eve! I agree about the old drawings. I never really thought too much on it, either, until those boxes of sketchbooks started piling up. I went into my basement one day, before making this video, looking for one sketchbook in particular. It took me nearly an hour to find the right one, which is why I decided to purge! lol! Since making this video, I have referred to that consolidated sketchbook a dozen times. I also found another box full of sketchpads that I forgot I had. A lot of more fine art drawings, mostly from my art school years! Oh boy! :)
The letter "D" is cool, that looks like an interesting project. That lemon/ motorcycle is cool, machines and mechanical things are my weakness, ha! That's a good idea to take out the drawings and give away the sketchbooks with paper with them. That flipbook is trippy. I liked those deco -cats. Oh...so you paste them together in a new book, very cool. I think I am going to do that with some of my books too. Thanks.
Thank you, Scot! Funny, I refer to the "new" consolidated sketchbook WAY more often now than I did any of the other books that sat in boxes for years. So glad I did this project! Cheers!
Cool project! I have a bunch of sketchbooks & might do something similar, or may just take out the drawings that didn't "come out" to anything!
What did you do with the flipbook doodles?
"you can make new books out of them, donate 'em, give 'em to a friend's kid"
*10 minutes later:*
burns all of it...
I've been wanting to free up some space by doing away with old sketchbooks, but was struggling with the idea. This video is just what I needed.
i had a boxful of journals so i spent about a week flipping through a decade’s time capsule.
it was a different person who had created them so i tore out the compostable pages and added them to my garden compost 👩🌾 and just binned the rest.
letting go of the past gives me more breathing space to grow 😉
Love this video and concept ... Only thing I wished is that you glued those pieces chronologically, instead of by size, it had given us a glimpse of how art improves over time... But then there are loads of video on that already.... Wonderful concept of preserving old artwork.... Going to follow it myself...
Thank you for this! At times I have wondered why I am buying and filling up all of these sketchbooks, and what should I do with them. I only started drawing in sketchbooks this year, so I only have a few, but it has been in the back of my mind. I really like your idea and appreciate this video very much!
Amy, you are so kind! Thank you! It's one of those "projects" you tell yourself you want to do every year, but never get to it. I found opportunity and so glad I did. I'm also glad I chose to record it, though it was a bit of a challenge! lol! My studio space was a disaster for the past two weeks! Thank you again. I appreciate you very much! :)
This was fun to watch!!! Wow you've been deawing since before I was born hahahaha your style shines in all your pieces. You've got a little time travel machine right there in that new sketchbook.
Every year, I try to fill out a sketchbook, because I always fill my notes and notebooks filled with drawings. I go all the way back of the last few pages of my sketchbook and fill up the year worth of doodles and glue them down :)) Glad to know I'm not the only one!! (I usually fill my sketchbook up a bit, but I always have a problem finishing the last few pages so it helps me out)
Oh my gosh! This is utter madness to me! I am absolutely a hoarder but also have a garbage memory so this is like.... Dang, man... I almost feel anxious at the idea of ever even trying to consolidate down my sketchbooks. =o_o= You're a much braver person than I.
Meow Meow Kapow same here
Great idea for purging your old sketchbooks! I do that with magazines that have techniques or samples of projects I want to try out later. Had so many many magazines I had to quit getting them because I had trouble parting with them!
Hi paulage1art! I am like you in that regard. I used to clip the little artsy drawings from the New Yorker and save them, but found I rarely actually looked at them. My local library sells stacks of old magazines for 25¢, so whenever the New Yorkers are available, I'll buy them and instead just clip out the covers. I have a large assortment of covers to flip through that I just love! :) Thank you so much for checking this out and again, for your wonderful thoughts! Cheers!!! :)
Great purge! Yes, back to nature, the ultimate recycling, thus opening new avenues of creativity for yourself. Love it!
I myself have never done much serious work in sketchbooks. I have bought them, put a few drawings in the first few pages and they get left behind. Part of the many reasons for this is that I always feel that drawing in a book traps the art away from everyone and no one will ever see it. But with the pandemic, I am on RUclips a lot and see people recording "sketchbook tour" videos which seems like a great way to let the art out into the world where people can see it. And some will draw in their sketchbook, and then post them on social media, so it is a way to share them and even monetize them. So I am rethinking all this for myself. I too burn a lot of my artwork. I moved from one city to another and back again, and didn't want to pack around the old art. I found the purging process going both directions to be extremely emotional but very good for me. Making art is always a growth process, and the art will change over time, not always for the better. So not all the practice work is worthy of archiving, but can be interesting to trace your steps through time, so some has value, but certainly not all of it.
Once I got over the shock of actually discarding something I created, I think I would have to say a quiet thank you and say goodbye to those less than stellar, not still inspiring pieces - thank them for joining me in the journey. I guess I'm a little silly like that. Even my scribbles seem to be a piece of me and helped to make me "more me" than I was before I scribbled them. Overly sentimental? Perhaps. I'm an utter loss with photos. The one thing about digital that helps me - I can say good bye to it before I become attached to it once it becomes physical. But my pre-digi photos, even discarding multiple duplicates - loved ones who have passed and I find the photos I sent them of my family growing up are now finding their way back to my home. And I'm not too sure my children want them taking up space in their homes. Being part of the "sandwich" generation LOL...I'm getting smooshed. And have to learn to let them go.
I completely understand, Laura Dains. As a young man, I held onto everything, even fortunes from cookies! When I moved one year, I started tossing things away. The liberation was so freeing, I was addicted! Of course, I miss things, like my airbrushes, two small sculptures I made when I worked in a steel shop, and a sketchbook filled with drawings of a woman I'd loved. But, I often think letting go is natural and helps me separate periods of my life. I totally agree with photos. At one point, my mom gave me a folder full of photos, drawings, and early published pieces she'd been saving. I was amazed she kept them, but she just didn't know what to do with them. Ironically, I still have them, as I couldn't part with them. lol!! Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It's a treat to have such great conversation. Cheers! :)
Wonderful idea. I am doing my first "sketch book" on printer paper in a binder using page protectors. As stated in a comment on another video I neglected large aspects of learning arts and getting into new things like drawings so when I later want to save pieces more this is a wonderful way to do so thank you
Oooh Mark! I'm doing therapy against depression and a part of me is a huge junk collector. As part of my therapy I've decided to collect all bits and bobs of sketches made in loose paper, those ones that are from 5 to 10 years old, and I'm doing the same as you are: cutting them to size and glueing the pieces to a book (except mine has black paper hehe). It's going to be a long process for me because I have a loooot of folders and boxes with scraps and loose sketches. Feels refreshing to watch this video and remind myself that I have to tackle down some more of my leftovers :)
That's great to hear, Maddy Torta De Climão! Even though it will be a long process, it should be very rewarding when it's done! Best of luck!
I LOVE this idea! I have a bunch of sketchbooks from when I was a kid, but I'm trying to downsize and so this this might solve my problem!
Thank you, KiwiCakeful! It's not for everyone, but for me, it gave me a wonderful book that helped reduce space and give me a single source to revisit my older work. Best wishes! ~ Mark
This is amazing, but I'm keeping all my Sketchbooks for the memories.
Thank you, Jazzy Chihuahua. I agree that this is definitely not something for everyone, nor would I recommend it for everyone. Having SO many sketchbooks that date back years was cumbersome. I'm glad I did it and looking through the final book, now, it all works for me and no regrets, whatsoever. Thanks again! Cheers! :)
Beyond impressed with your ingenuity! I plan on buying a cheap sketchbook soon to do this now. Thank you for a great video. It was fun and inspiring to watch you at work, and see how unique your talent is! Namaste
Thank you so much for checking this out and for your generous feedback, 7lilly5! I'm grateful for your thoughts! Cheers! :)
Thanks. I modified the idea to suite me and stuck what I wanted to keep in an old presentation portfolio instead of using glue. Sure feels good to get that sorted out.
Just keep them like a collection dont make anything 😀
This is a great idea! Thanks!... Quite often I feel like being creative and don't know what to do with myself when I don't actually have the energy to doodle etc. ... however I really like this idea as a project I can pick up and put down as often as need be without loosing creative energy ... if anything I feel it will help create more inspiration for me! Thanks again! 😊
Instead of burn that amount of paper better is to give it for recycling :)
Yeah, I'm an avid recycler in my routine life, but this was specifically intended to be a more personal experience, which it was. I don't think my little burning of a bunch of sketchbooks is going to dramatically impact the environment, especially because it was just old paper-based items - no plastics or toxic chemicals. I mean, I see more pollution coming from neighborhood leaf burnings, so I'm not too concerned about this.
This is so great, I did a similar process with sketchbooks, so I'll have the blank pages to use. Now all the images are lying in a drawer, because I wanted to stick them in one notebook chronologically, but now I understand that it doesn't matter, I'll just pick the ones I like, sort them by size and glue them all together, doesn't matter when which was drawn, as long as they're all in one book :) Thank you for informative video!
Thank you, liliasheart! I appreciate your feedback so much, and I'm grateful for your time watching. I was originally going to try to keep things chronological, but once I got going it became more about just fitting them all in! lol! For me, I can easily tell which drawings are from what era of my life, which is good as I'm getting old! hehe!!! Cheers!
Hello, I'm here from watching you on The Mind of Watercolor. You're an inspiration. I will be going through all your videos to get caught up. Thank you for your advice. Yes, I subscribed too. Hugs!
Hi Connie Krueger! Thank you so much for checking the channel out, but also for your thoughtful comment! Sorry if I was a total nerd on The Mind of Watercolor - I was super nervous! lol! I had a blast and I'm so grateful for all the connections I've made on RUclips. Glad to be connected! Thank you again, and cheers! :)
good idea, this is what i will do with my old sketches that i like. thank you
Thank you, Iris Eden! Good luck with your old sketches! Glad you enjoyed this! :)
Great idea. Like you, I would have many years to go through before I could purge like you did.
Great video Mark! 😁 I love this idea...I will show hubby as he is the one with a ton of sketch books. 😉 I also love the idea of burning the pages you are done with. You are releasing the creative energies back into the world for all of the artists to tap into. 😃 I know it would be a ton more work, but it would be awesome to put the saved drawings in order by year. 😉 I would also save the thick cardboard/chip board covers from the sketch books you are burning. You can use those boards to make custom sketchbooks for yourself. There are some awesome book binding videos on youtube. Awesome sketchbook ideas Mark, tfs! 😁
Thank you for checking out the video and for such kind thoughts, Valerie! Funny, my original intention was to preserve the timeline of my original sketchbooks, but there were so many without dates, it got a little crazy! lol! Great idea, too, about the bindings! Wish I'd thought of that pre-burning! Cheers! ;)
I have several sketchbooks full with artwork, but have no idea how to display it. I also love how you de-cluttered your sketchbooks, I've done the same thing and began anew
I've been doing the same. It's actually quite fun - but time consuming - to do the inventory on old sketches ☺️
I agree Elli Maanpaa Art. I kept putting it off and putting it off, but really needed the space, so the timing was excellent! Thank you so much for checking it out and leaving your thoughts! :)
I think it's very interesting what you do with the old sketchbooks. Me personally am horrible with keeping a sketchbook and so with that, I actually don't use sketchbooks. I use the tear away pads with sketch paper and when I am done with my sketch, it goes into a plastic bin that is wonderful and holds up to a 9X12 sheets nicely. It's the most common size I use but everything goes into that. It's almost full so I need a new one. I just keep all the old sketches I do and just stick it all in that bin.
If you do any printmaking you can save the chipboard from the back of some of those sketchbooks to make collograph plates.
That's a great idea, never thought of that! Thank you, CountxZero! :)
I do also cut out little scribbles I did from years ago (mostly my time in school etc.) and some time ago I put them into a a5 sized clear bag in a folder along with small loose sketches. I have boxes full of old stuff. Can't burn them as I don't have the means to but i do slowly fotograph them and get rid of the photographed ones. Some of the paper after 10 or 20 years is starting to disintegrate in spots and is a major attraction for critters so I am recycling a lot right now. With small sized scanners and smartphones nowadays there's just no need to keep this much paper around.
Fantastic idea! I need to do this since I have many sketchbooks in the same state, dating back about as far.
Thank you, Steel Phoenyx! It's not for everyone and it does consume quite a bit of time, but I must admit, it was SO worth it, for me. Now, since I made this video, I've got about six full sketchbooks to contend with! It's all starting again! lol!! Cheers and thank you for your time watching! :)
M.D. Campbell I can see where it would be worth the time. I recently started playing with bookbinding and used the blank pages left over from old sketchbooks as sheets for the new books… a great way to consolidate the remains of several books into one.
for casebound sketcjbooks you can gesso or acrylic over the rubbish pages and then re use them in the book.
15 sketchbooks of mine... now in 2 2.5 inch binders and one is 3/4ths full. Saved myself a whole shelf and I think I have to purge a few more sketchbooks soon, just need another binder. Also a day to set aside to do so.
Awesome! I definitely need to do this again this year! Thank you and cheers! :)
That's a real treasure! Thanks for sharing. (I love the cats!)
With this month being inktober I'm binging on all your videos as I love your art style.
Any tips on how to grow ones art style or find your art style because I seem to just have lots of art styles... It's frustrating. I want my own art style but I don't know how to get there.
This was a great video. I have a ton of stuff I should consolidate!
Thank you, John Waters, Jr. :)
Noooo don't burn it! Please recycle :C
DISRESPECT YOUR SURROUNDINGS DUH DUH DUH DUH
Very nice. I plan on doing the same. I have a lot of stuff I need to compile, just because it's taking up too much room! It turned out to be so much fun watching all your sketchbooks though, thanks for the video.
Hi Usagi Kuma! Thank you for taking the time to check it out and for your kind words. I can't recommend consolidating sketchbooks, enough. It's not for everyone, but for me, it was a complete liberation and, as I mentioned in the video, it freed up a lot of space for other things! Have a great day and again, thank you! Cheers! :)
What a fantastic idea!! I looked at some of my old stuff not long ago and was amazed I had drawn those things and why don't I draw with that ease anymore? I will definitely do this. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Kirsten! It's very liberating, to be honest, but some folks have commented that they'd be too afraid to let go. I took a chance and it paid off. I am still completely happy I did this! Problem now? I might have to do it again! lol! :)
I have several unfinished books set aside for *consolidation* and appreciated seeing your method. the one thing that made me cringe was the loss of dates and context. I also realize that I am using much better paper these days. not sure I want to go back to using what I did in the past. Not just cheaper paper, but AGED cheap paper. 😒
Hi Rachel Kopel and thanks for both watching and leaving your thoughts. omg. The paper I used when I was young is the same paper I see in the retail stores and walk right passed, now. Amazing what you learn over time. I will say, with regard to date and context, that I am lucky, I guess, because I can look at any drawing that I saved and know exactly when I did it, where I was sitting, who was around me, etc. The linework - for me - reveals the timestamp and it's crazy, but if I look at a silly doodle that had a certain style of crosshatching, I can say, with full recollection, "I did that when I was teaching middle school kids in 1992 in the break room when this guy Tom used to watch me draw and be so amazed while he ate glazed donut holes that he always got all over the table and never cleaned up!" LOL!!! Maybe I've got a weird memory. Anyhow, thank you again and be well! :)
Even though you flipped through the second sketchbook quick, I appreciated the Beatles nods in there! :D I'm actually working on a massive project myself right now -- I bought that 600 page sketchbook that a lot people are doing the Sketchbook Slam challenge with (which no, I'm not doing that with it lol) and made my own challenge that every single thing going into that book is going to be Beatles related....it'll either be them, an illustration of lyrics, anything to do with Yellow Submarine or the cartoon series, their spouses/kids/pets/whatever -- it just all has to tie back to the band in some way, shape, or form. (It's one subject matter I know I won't get bored with. ;)) My only regret is the paper quality isn't better, so it severely limits what mediums I can use in there.....and as such, there's still some Beatles artwork happening in other sketchbooks too, LOL. (I'm in the middle of a psychedelic Let It Be watercolor piece in one of my watercolor pads as we speak. ;))
You could have signed and sold your old prints to your fans! This way they could have a token of your past and you would make a few extra dollars.
Love the out-takes! 😊
Great idea! I loved!
Just what I needed to see. Thank you.
Awesome, Joanne Van Genderen! Thank you!
Never had to much to save but I've done cutouts and glued them over pages that didn't turn out for me. Also on on a few pages, since I'm old fashioned, i used the old black glue down corners they used to use for pictures to cover pages I didn't like. That way what ever I'm using, mainly the front cover for a card, can be removed and used since it is not damaged by glue, should I change my mind. Take care of the new book you created, its a great idea and loaded with your history. Thanks for the video.
Some of the drawings you threw out, look like they would be fun to colour in.
He is one of my new favorite artists 💙
Thank you so much Rainbow Ash! Such a lovely thing to say! Cheers! :D
Fantastic!! Found you via rewatching the livestream chat between you, Steve Owings and Steve Mitchell of The Mind of Watercolor), and so glad I did. Was a wonderful video and I left a long comment there, much of what you said had a big impact. So I'll be watching more - new subscriber :).
I'm delighted that you came across the video. It was so generous and kind to be included by Steve & Marty, two artists I admire beyond words and even beyond their skills - just two, really amazing guys that I'm fortunate to have met in my life. Thank you so much for checking out this channel and leaving such kind thoughts. Cheers! :)
12:23 in the arms of an angel
What a great idea!
Nice, though I've long since abandoned sketchbooks in favor of a clip board and loose sheets. Anything I want to keep can then be put into page protectors and added to a binder.
What a great idea.....I’m moving into a smaller space which will be a combination studio and living space so years of artistic accumulation must be purged.....so hard to part with old art.....mraz
Another great video !
hi did you have dates on your pass sketches .i feel its great to see how long a go i did a particular sketch that i really like now but probably did not when i did sketch
I think they would look really cool in a toned sketchbook so they can sort of stand out a little against the other color of the paper
Omg I need to do this. I doodle or draw botanicals have done since I was a kid but I'm also a hoarder and when I look at old stuff I just think why am I keeping this so I'm just going to keep what I'm proud off and bin the rest
You should have a giveaway for one of your older sketch books .
Not sure anyone would want one of those musty old sketchbooks! lol! Cheers! :)
I’ve been trying to figure out good ways to put all my decent drawings in one book and get rid of my practice scribbles! Why did i never think of this?? 😱
I do want to suggest to your viewers if you like a drawing on the same page back to back to place it in a clear file album.
Great video! Thank you
I'm really happy you enjoyed this, Deborah Anton! Thanks for letting me know! :)
its official.. I am a hoarder.. I am seeing things you passed by.. and I said hey that is cute I like that...
Love this video!!
Wow, thank you so much, Homeless Bre! I appreciate that!
I enjoyed watching this video thank you
Thank you wolfgangproductions7! :D
That must have been a great feeling to do that! Also love your humour. :)
Thank you so much, Megan, for the comment and watching. I'm glad you enjoy my humor (not everyone does... especially my kids! lol!) It was a tremendous feeling of satisfaction and because I love the outdoors and a good fire, it was a very personal experience for me. Glad I did it! :D
I certainly do enjoy! ... your kids will eventually 'get it'!!? lol .... yes I can imagine that sense of satisfaction of 'purging' the past and creating something 'new' from it - and I too love a good outdoors fire! It is very personal; my brother recently did similar .... and I am inspired to do so too, and have started on a massive 'purging'/declutter' process, to make way for the new, to 'rediscover' some forgotten things from the past, learn from it, and move onwards with this knowledge i hope! Thank you again for your inspiration and I know you felt more comfortable behind the scenes, but you are a 'natural' and a wonderful joy to watch - its amazing what we can discover and do when we sometimes step outside of our 'comfort zones' :)
I always found it hard to draw something without a reference photo. Do you think as I draw more and more I'll be able to? I remember in high school there was this girl in my art class that sat next to me and her drawings were unbelievable. She could pull out dragons and fairies and mythical creature just...out of head!!!! I still can't do that, but then again I put my drawing passion away for quite a few years. I wonder how far I could be now if I had just kept up with it. But that's a different story. Now I sit and wonder is this something you can truly learn? Will I be able to draw things out of my imagination without always having to look at a picture? Or is this just my " style" and that's how it will always be?
Your comments are timely. You're in for a treat in my video for next week which discusses this exact topic. I would say that if you're just getting back into the swing of drawing, start with the basics. Draw what's around you, get familiar with the tools, and become comfortable so that it's not a chore, but more like swimming where it just feels so good to immerse into something you love. Then, the imaginative part will come, once you're comfortable. :)
M.D. Campbell Thank you! I look forward to it. I just found you by chance a few days ago and have been binge watching your old videos
Funny how I saw this video as I was sitting and going through my own old sketchbooks. But my version is still, keep it all, but scan and keep digitally the best and inspiring ones in a folder on the PC. :D Easier to find and look at. But then I don't have too big piles of old sketch books yet. :3 I'll come one day maybe. :P
Just an idea..you could always scan the drawings you want to keep to an SD card so you can look back at them.
Actually, I did that first, so I would have them in case anything should happen to the originals. Still, having access to the work and tangibly feel, see, and even smell them is important to me. Glad I have them in both formats! Cheers! :)
I can understand that. Same as kindle books vs. real books you can touch and look through.
nice idea to put all this drawings in one sketchbook....
for me .. i cut the drawing and stick it in a new clean page and draw something around it ..
and for the used paper ,you can draw on the other side
The bloopers at the end !!! :D
YESSSSS, FIYAAAAH!!!!
even I don’t draw them seeing artist burn sketchbook still pain me !
that Mark impression
this is a great idea!!
Hi Azalia P! Thank you so much for both checking out the video and the kind words. I will say that now I've let go of all those old sketchbooks, I've got so much more storage space! I had no idea! And of course, I recently found another box of sketchbooks in my basement I'd forgotten about! LOL!! Thanks again and cheers! :)
aww thank you so much for commenting back! well, I have the exact same problem too! I thought I was the only one who deals with a lot of old sketchbooks and not knowing what to do with them, at one point I wanted to throw them away but at the other point i felt guilty letting go all of my drawings. but i guess by doing what you've done, it could solve 2 of my problems at once, getting rid of old an irrelevant artworks and also getting so much space for new ones!!! thanks once again :)
Have a great day, and cheers from Indonesia!
and plus, 14 minutes is quite a long video for me but I enjoyed watching every minute of it. keep on making new video! I'm subscribing.
Thank you for telling me that 14 minutes is too long. I'm still learning and it's good to have insightful feedback, especially about time - I feel the same way as you! Thank you for subscribing, too. It means more than I can express. I'll try to bring a different kind of content to my channel that you hopefully enjoy! Best wishes! :)
I did the same thing recently, with my childhood art. I'm only 23 so lol not That many years of clutter but still. I also burned my old journals because they were filled with unpleasant memories and its not anything I want discovered hundreds of years from now!!!
i might have afew sketchbooks i can turn into smoke and air ... thx for the idea!
You're most welcome, Kris Fox! :D
🙄 What is it with men and burning stuff?
Personally, I'm not a drawist. As a sculptor, I find I use my sketchbooks very differently, which is, of course, to make 2D mockups, build armatures sometimes or figure out which projects I want to do are most practical or exciting to me; do some project journaling and sort thoughts out of my head. Lately, I have been working a little more 2D, designing lineworks in my sketchbook and then using them to design cross-stitch patterns.
I'm a mere babby artist compared to you, but of course I know the face-palmage of half-filled sketchbooks. However, I say this now as someone who officially does not draw, I can't imagine filling a small library worth of sketchbooks. This is an awesome idea though.
Why wouldn't you just scan the ones you want to keep into a digital photo album and recycle all the paper?
I did scan all the art (which I should've mentioned in the video), so I have it all digitally archived, but for me, there's something I love about the tangible artwork. Each little piece has a unique texture, the way the ink or pencil laid down, and even the smell (that old book smell), which I wouldn't want to give up. It's also portable, so I can bring it with me to the school I teach at and share with students, though they might get bored pretty quickly! lol! :)
Find someone who is doing collage art, they need that kind of sketchbooks to glue in!
Thank you!