As promised here are the details of the sketchbooks I used in 2014.

It was a year of change for me in that:
1. I moved from an A5 portrait format sketchbook to a landscape version which was larger and providing me with more options.
2. I started using a second sketchbook for my sketching outings (A4 moleskine watercolour). This was perhaps the most radical change as it has destroyed the single narrative of my life that I used to believe was so important to me.

I still prefer to only have one sketchbook but
– the A4 version is too big for daily use
– I really needed to work larger and use better paper for my local sketches. I have been disappointed with my collection of Sydney sketches mainly because I wasn’t using the watercolour paper I do when I travel.

This year I also started making sketchbook journal type pages out of my teaching demos and thumbnail sketches as I move around the class (and sending these out as handouts). I LOVE the way these sketchbooks record my classes and workshops!

Please note: It is not the number of sketchbooks that I fill each year that is important (and please don’t compare numbers!) but the fact that I am constantly sketching, practicing and improving my craft and at the end of the year I have an amazing record of my life.

And just for the record, my standard rate has been approx 20 x A5 sketchbooks for the last 4 years or so. So this year is on par. Here is my 2011 NYE post.

And on a different subject … I have got a very colourful planner/ diary this year. I have been following A Beautiful Mess for years – Elise, Emma and the gang have such a wonderful sense of style, design and colour and create the coolest DIY projects. Not that I ever make anything, but I enjoy the ‘eye-candy’.

However, it has been following their approach to blogging that has been the biggest inspiration! Whilst a lifestyle blog is quite different from a personal art blog, their attitude to sharing and planning blog content has been incredibly helpful for me. It has really made me focus on what I want to do with my own blog and realise how important it is to everything I do with my art.

It is great to have something tangible from ABM!