That Transition Page. And, I’d Love Some Advice.

I’m back from a fabulous four weeks in Spain and Portugal, with a head full of memories and images and close to four full sketchbooks, waiting to be blogged (something I love doing because I get to re-live my travels).

But first this important page in my sketchbook. The transition page. On the face of it, just two pages of notes and little sketches, done while eating and drinking. But the similarity ends there.

On the left, a page from Belém, Lisbon. Sketched while gorging pastel de nata. My sketchbook is never far, anything and everything is worth capturing.
On the right, taking a break from my computer, picking up my pen for the first time four days after coming home, little sketches and notes at my local coffee shop. It’s hard to keep going after a big trip.

So here’s a question: How do you do this? How do you keep your sketching practice alive and interesting when you are not traveling or at a special event? Do you set yourself goals and challenges? Do you set aside daily or weekly drawing time? Work from a library of images or from your imagination when you can’t get out?

What keeps you motivated, experimenting, learning?
I have a pretty long list of things I’d like to work on, but it’s just harder to get myself to sketch in the middle of everyday life.

Maybe you have some ideas you can share, things that work for you, challenges you will try? I’d love to hear from you and learn from you. And I’ll share what I do over the next few months that seems to help.

Thanks in advance. And those sketches from Spain, they’re coming up next.