Art Unboxed Sketchbook Shorthand

Recently I’ve been doing some abstract pieces, which is a different world to me, and I’ve found a new use for my sketchbook. While I’m use to jotting down quick sketches or studies for bigger pieces, I’ve been doing a type of sketchbook shorthand lately. This is different than a normal drawing.

If I see something that triggers an idea I will quickly draw out, not the image necessarily, but the bones of the structure. At times I may do a full sketch, but many times it’s just the general lines that will build it later. From there, I’ve been developing them in my digital art, partially because I love digital art, but also because of time.

My wife surprised me with a heavy gel for use with my acrylics for Father’s Day, so there are some impasto abstract acrylics in my future. Until I get time to work on them, the sketchbook has been my shorthand, and the digital a sort of rough draft. Unknowingly, this art process has mirrored my writing process more than ever.

Also I’m also using my phone as a short of sketchbook shorthand. This means that I’m collecting images of shapes or ideas, not to draw them, but because they have some note I want to expand on. I’ve always done this with my realism drawing and painting, but it is somewhat different with abstracts.

Using my sketchbook this way has added a new layer to it, and to it’s value for me. I believe in adding value through words and pictures, it’s not just a motto, but a conviction. I hope to add value to others through them both, including through these art unboxed articles. If they are beneficial to you I’d love to hear about it @ pruittwrites@gmail.com.