My notebook collection

This weekend I spent some time organizing my studio, and I thought it might be fun to take you on a tour of my notebook collection and show you how I use them.

My Journal

I have been keeping journals continuously since I was 12 or 13 years old. I started in sweet looking cloth-bount diaries, then moved on to Mead 5-star spiral bound scribblers, then decided that I needed to be stylish and chic, and graduated to moleskines.

I write an entry almost every day. Normally I describe what happened that day (or the day before, if I'm writing first thing in the morning), and outline my thoughts about my projects or things that might be happening in my life.

However, I don't always write journal entries in my moleskine journal. I keep a concurrent journal in a Scrivener file and sometimes I brain-dump my thoughts into that. It's nice to be able to type at the speed of my thoughts, instead of waiting for my hand and pen to catch up.

I'm not precious about my paper journals. They're messy. They're full of scribbles. They're peppered with mis-spelled words and incomplete sentences. Sometimes I only have the time to write quick lists about the day -- things I saw, things I thought about -- in a rapid logging style. My journal is for un-selfconscious experimentation and expression. It's where I push my voice to its limits and figure out what my heart really wants to say. It is utterly private, but at the same time, there isn't much in there that is deeply secret or unsharable.

My Sketchbook

I recently moved from a moleskine pocket sketchbook to a normal sized one. At first I liked the smaller size of the pocket book because I could wedge it between diapers, wipes and bottles in my hold-everything bag. Now that Little One is older, and we don't need to bring the kitchen sink on every outing, I've opted for a slightly larger notebook. It gives me more freedom to decide how large I want my sketches to be. 

This sketchbook is all about daily experimentation and play. I'm not enamoured with the moleskine sketchbook paper. It only does an adequate job of dealing with watercolours and some pens bleed on the paper. That being said, I quite like that I can't be precious about what I'm doing. I feel free to make mistakes because these drawings are only for myself. 

I have many other sketchbooks which are the workhorses for my various jobs and projects. For those I normally use A3 or A4 Seawhite of Brighton sketchbooks. They're big, bulky, fantastic, and rarely leave my studio. 

My Personal Dictionary

This is where I have to admit to you that I'm a nerd; I'm completely, hopelessly nerdy. When I'm reading and I come across a word I don't know, want to use more often, or think is particularly lovely, I write it and its definition down in this little notebook. 

I don't know where I got this book from and it started off as something different. It's first iteration was as a book of lists: things I wanted to bake, things I loved, etc.  But, it turns out that a book of lists didn't inspire me. 

But a book of words? 

Heaven. 

Here are a few of the words therein....

caparison:

ornamental covering for a horse

fulsome:

complimentary or flattering to a excessive degree

dilatory:

slow to act; intended to cause delay

furze:

gorse (a type of plant). Thorny, evergreen, small yellow flowers, grows in the moors. 

pellucid:

translucently clear

plaints:

another way to say "complaints" 

numinous:

having a strong religious or spiritual quality. 

Will I ever use any of these words in every-day writing or speaking? Probably not, but I love knowing that I have enriched my vocabulary with them. 

My Inspiration Notebook 

Whenever I read inspiring passages or facts I copy them into my inspiration notebook.

In essence, this is like an old "commonplace book," which is defined as a notebook into which notable extracts from other works are copied for personal use. 

I'm on my third commonplace book. At first I copied clichéd quotes and song lyrics (I was in my teens). In my second book I copied beautiful paragraphs from novels, and useful paragraphs from non-fiction. 

In my third book, in addition to recording beautiful and useful things, I'm also trying to incorporate more poetry. 

I need more poetry in my life.

My Gratitude Journal

My Easter resolution this year was to keep a gratitude journal. I've flirted with the idea for years; scribbling little notes in the margins of my journals or day planner, but I've never stuck with it for longer than a few weeks, because I've never had a concrete plan.

I realized that if I listed three things I was grateful for every day, that would be 1095 happy things to remember over the course of a year.

I wanted a special notebook to motivate my in my quest for gratitude, so I ordered the gorgeous "Line A Day" diary from Chronicle Books, which is a perpetual diary that runs for 5 years.

Think about this: five years of daily gratitude would record 5475 happy moments.

My Day Planner

My day planner is a black moleskine notebook with squared pages. I have quested high and low, though stationery stores across three continents, and never found my perfect planner. My main requirements are: a weekly view where the daily portions are vertical instead of horizontal, so I can write lists; and lots of space in the margins for weekly lists that are not day-specific. 

For much of last year I used a planner that I had made in inDesign and had printed at our local Notting Hill printing shop. However, after six months the ring binding was in shreds and pages flew hither and thither whenever I opened it. 

Since moleskine notebooks have the strongest binding of any notebook I know, I bought a book with squared pages and ruled the spreads myself. 

I LOVE this little planner of mine. It is my brain. It is my time-keeper. It keeps me sane and helps when I feel overwhelmed. Everything gets written down, so nothing is forgotten (at least nothing important). 

And, there are plenty of pages in the back for me to keep notes on projects I'm working on, books I'm reading or want to read, random lists, and weekly recipes so that I always have the ingredients lists on hand. 

It's a mess, but I love it.

What do you think? 

Do you have any notebooks you can't live without? 

And, would you like a more detailed tour of any of the above notebooks? Please leave a comment to let me know. 

And, as always, show your love by pinning on pinterest, sharing on facebook or twitter, or hearting in bloglovin! 

My week in drawings

'

This week I.....

.... found the perfect shade of blue-green to paint the forest landscape the dominates the next two picture books I'm working on. The brightly coloured African animals will really pop against this colour. This colour is sometimes called 

eau de Nil 

(water of the Nile).

.... was inspired by this quote. It made my heart spin: a full revolution. I've decided that my criteria for accepting any project needs to be whether or not it causes a revolution in my heart. 

.... want to tell more stories. If the world isn't made of atoms, but tiny stories, that means you have millions of stories in your heart; billions in your body. Can you hear them? Your stories are enriching your life and singing songs of encouragement. 

What's your story today? 

Did you like any of these drawings? Feel free to share them on Pinterest! 

How to make work easy PLUS a few daily drawings

{Soaring through the week, and crossing things off my list one by one}

It is a sunny, sweet day: perfect for sitting in the breeze and dreaming. 

Next door, workmen are clanking, whirring and banging. It gives me a false sense of industry. I'm not doing much, but someone nearby is working very hard. It feels like that work transfers to me by proximity. Like when I'm drinking tea and the washing machine is spinning loudly. I'm not doing anything, but it is working very hard, and so I feel satisfied and accomplished. 

I have been thinking a lot lately about what work means. 

My Dad always said that we should "work smart, not hard." 

And I've spent my entire life trying to figure out what that means. 

It means being efficient. It means figuring out what is absolutely necessary, doing that necessary thing, and then resting. It is when we rest that we get our best ideas. 

The trick is figuring out what the necessary things are. 

The other day I made a list of my "necessary" things. It is small but mighty: daily drawings, daily journalling, writing stories, working on my illustration projects, reading novels and poetry, keeping detailed to-do lists. (Playing with little-one and hanging out with my husband are necessary things, but they don't fall under the "work" category; they are unadulterated fun.)

That is all. 

Six necessary things.

Of course, my day-to-day life contains a million and one things I need to do: hanging laundry, cleaning the toilet, making my toddler's dinner, making our dinner..... These all huddle under the umbrella of "keeping detailed to-do lists." 

My to-do list umbrella protects me from the storm of tasks that constantly hurls itself at my door like a monsoon. I simply write down the things I think are most important.

And then I stick to it. 

Then powering through the drudgery becomes automatic. For example, I don't question whether or not I clean the bathroom on a Wednesday, I just do it. And, while I'm cleaning, I go through the motions by rote so that I can let my mind glide off and spin in circles, thinking about my wonderful, confounding ideas. 

But, that is tangental.

Meanwhile, I'm focusing on daily drawings, journalling, and doing good work in my studio. 

What are your necessary things? 

How do you work "smart, and not hard? 

Is anyone interested in reading a more detailed post about how I structure my to-do lists so that I can minimize my effort on a weekly basis?

{Don't forget, you can download all sorts of to-do list and planner printables if you join my

"Studio Friends" mailing list.

I'll add more printables every month.}

{The work in progress}

{Hippity-hop hippity-hop}

{Drawing faces on paint blobs}

{I can't get enough of cherry blossoms: I captured these on our morning walk to little-one's nursery school}

{A weekend trip to the Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park, a short bicycle ride from our house}

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Daily Drawings plus a few photos from the week

{A midsummer night's dream. Celebrating Shakespeare's 400th anniversary}

{Happy Birthday to the Queen! I sketched her surrounded

by coins from all the Commonwealth countries I hold dear: 

Canada, Great Britain, South Africa and Namibia.}

{A portrait of Mrs. Pontipine from the children's

TV show "In the Night Garden.}

{Baby's desk...}

{My desk}

Daily Drawings

{Bright colours for a gloomy day}

The wonderful thing about my "daily drawings" is that I don't berate myself if I can't actually draw every day. 

In fact, I do draw every day, but not always fun, experimental or "sharable" things. 

My theory is that if I have a goal of "daily fun drawings" and I draw 4 or 5 days out of seven, then I'm succeeding wildly. 

It's just like my "daily" yoga practice. My ultimate goal is to do yoga first thing every morning.  But I normally manage it three or four mornings per week.  That's still a victory, right? It's more than nothing! 

I'm trying to celebrate small moments of progress. 

What is one small thing you've done this week to move towards your dreams?

{Drawing on the train}

{Drawing on the train}

Daily Drawings

Part of this daily drawing discipline is about experimentation. 

My normal style is pen and ink coloured with watercolour, then scanned and given sleight of hand photoshop touches. 

This works really well for me. But, sometimes it's necessary to jump into new waters for a refreshing swim. Then one can return to work with a renewed mind and fresh perspective. 

So, I've been playing with collage this week. I feel like I've returned to the delights of kindergarten, when cutting, gluing and sticking were my favourite activities. 

I've done fewer drawings this week, as little one has been miserably sick with conjunctivitis. So in between cuddles I rush to my sketchbook to record the visions from my inside-eye. 

{On Monday morning I could have stayed in bed all day}

{Drawing comics for

SCBWI British Isles

}

{There is nothing better than clouds of cherry blossoms and a clear sky. The skies have been altogether too cloudy for my taste recently.} 

Dancing with Daffodils

When I open my front door I step into a cloud of purple fragrance. It is sweet and intoxicating. At my feet the bees are getting drunk on the nectar from the hyacinths. My window boxes are an open bar with an infinite tab.

I love to see the bees waltz, bourrée, and fox trot around the hyacinths, muscari and daffodils.

Sometimes, when I'm stuck in my studio with a fog of thoughts and worries clouding my senses, I think I hear the flowers knocking on the door, wanting me to come out to play.

So, the other day I did.

I drew a fairy, and she and I cavorted with the spring flowers for an afternoon.

Daily Drawings

In January I resolved to do daily drawings. I purchased a new moleskine sketchbook (small enough to carry in my hand-bag, but still large enough to hold big ideas), and set out to experiment, play and have fun.

I haven’t managed to draw every day, but I draw most days, and I consider that a success.

The thing with being an illustrator is that I

do

draw every day, but most of the time the drawings are for other people. They fulfil a brief. They need to be vetted by editors and art directors. They get sent back for changes. I love my work, but sometimes I crave the freedom to experiment.

So daily drawings are a way for me to let my creative soul soar.

Here are a few..... 

I'll keep posting more on either a weekly or monthly basis.  

Do you have a daily discipline that makes you happy? It doesn't have to be drawing, it could be journalling, or yoga, or cooking delicious dinners.... There are so many ways to ignite our creative hearts.  

Sketches from Namibia

In February we made the long trek to Johannesburg and Namibia to celebrate my sister-in-law's wedding.  We frolicked in the sandy desert and I enjoyed sketching the out-of-this-world scenery.

If you like these sketchbook pages, please feel free to share on Facebook, Pin on Pinterest or Tweet to all your friends!

What have you been up to in the past month?

The seasons are changing from gloomy winter to glittering spring and we're gradually settling into our new little house. I'm so grateful for the feeling of new beginnings; new home, new ideas, new routines, new excitement for life!

Here are some pages from my sketchbook. 

{Packing....} 

{Enduring a 12 hour over-night flight with a 14 month old baby girl....}

And Some Photos of Johannesburg....

Some Photos of Namibia

{From the air}

{Sand and sea forever}

{I got my Dad's watch repaired at a friend's antique watch shop. My Dad would have been thrilled that his watch travelled all the way to Namibia to be repaired. He loved Africa.}

{My niece and nephews playing on the dunes}

{The wedding car}

{In the town of Swakopmund}

A hand painted iPhone wallpaper and more daily drawings

My Christmas gift this year was upgrading my iphone4 to an iPhone6. I've never been much of a technology snob, but this small change has revolutionised my smart phone experience. The camera is crystal clear, maybe even nicer than my fancy dslr in some ways. 

However, the one thing the new phone didn't have was my favourite "cloudy cosmos" wallpaper. 

So I decided to paint my own! 

Sunset on the winter solstice above the roofs of west London. 

The view from our kitchen window 

Sketching on regent street 

Winter solstice sunset and more daily drawings

It's dark and cold, the time when we all crave the light the most. Yesterday, on Winter Solstice Eve, the sunset was merely a faint glow of light above the Victorian rooftops of West London. 

When the year is the darkest, I have to keep reminding myself to keep my inner light shining brightly. 

What do you do to protect the light in these dark months? I read, write and draw. They are the triumvirate of all things good for me. 

(If you like the drawings, feel free to pin, share on facebook, or otherwise appreciate them!)

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! 

Daily drawings for advent

I am challenging myself to do daily drawings in my tiny moleskine sketchbook for the advent season.  Who knows? If I find it inspiring enough I might even continue into the New Year.

Here are the first few pages...

If you like them, please pin on pinterest, or share on Facebook or Twitter!

I hope you all have a wonderful, lovely Holiday Season.

Not so daily sketches

It's murphy's law that the minute you proclaim to the universe (or the internet, that's the same thing, right?) that you're ready to start working, you get steamrolled by the worst head cold you've had in months.  

I'm lying on the couch drinking tea and blowing my nose while Little M sorts through our recycling in the kitchen. She is judiciously taking all the bottles, boxes, papers and containers out of the Westminster City recycling bags and scattering them on the kitchen floor. 

I don't mind, as long as she's quiet and playing independently and doesn't mind that I've been rendered horizontal. 

So, rather than pushing myself forwards, I'm taking a step back and reviewing where I am and where I want to go. I'm paging through my sketchbooks, and leafing through my journals. 

I used the last page in my teeny-tiny moleskine sketchbook the other day.  Here are a few selections from the past few weeks. I'm not sketching every day, but I'm sketching regularly, which is good enough. Don't you think?

Hopefully I will get over this dreadful lurgy soon. 

What were you up to this week

? Please let me know in the comments. 

*  *  * 

And finally...

Did you like the drawings in this post?

Feel free to pin them, heart them on bloglovin, tweet them, or share them on Facebook. And, make sure you subscribe or follow along to get even more weekly inspiration and follow along in my creative journey. 

See you next week! 

{This was the last page.}

A birthday self-portrait

Instead of sharing my daily drawings (of which there were few) this week. I thought I'd share my annual birthday self portrait.

Several years ago I started a tradition of drawing a self portrait on or around my birthday. It was inspired by Rembrandt, who painted many expressive and honest self-portraits throughout his life-time.  The self portraits track his emotional, physical and creative maturation.

I'm not Rembrandt, and I don't paint in oils; even so, each year I'm challenging myself to draw or paint something to represent the moment, the week, the day, that I grew one year older.

This year's drawing is very small, just a simple pencil sketch in my tiny moleskine sketchbook.  Did I catch my likeness? To be honest, I think the sketch was perfect about 3 minutes before I put my pencil down. I added a few too many strokes, and lost some of the intensity.  However, I think it perfectly captures my current mood of introspection.

Today isn't my birthday.  However, on the day, I spent a lot of time reflecting on what has happened in the past year and what I hope will come to fruition in the next year.

Do you have any birthday traditions?

Feeling inspired? Please share, tweet, pin or favourite!  

Go Back in Time...

32

31

30

29

28

27

Weekly drawings: week 9

St Hippolyte's Church Zell am See

{The tower of St. Hippolyte's Church}

We have spent the week in Zell am See, Austria, where my husband snowboarded and I relaxed with Little M and filled my sketchbook with Alpine views. 

I packed a minimalistic art kit: a tiny moleskine sketchbook, a few pens, pencils and brushes, and a small palette of watercolour paint.  I felt a bit confined by the small selection of supplies, but that's not a necessarily a bad thing when it comes to art. Sometimes limiting the options forces one to solve problems more creatively. 

I'm planning to do two travel posts in the next week to highlight the beauties of Zell am See and Salzburg.  But, for now, I'll just share my little sketches. 

{The mountains}

Stadt Platz, Sell am Zee, Medieval town

{A 16th century building on the town square}

{Experimenting with watercolour techniques}

Festung Hohensalzburg castle Salzburg drawing

{The Festung Hohensalzburg castle in Salzburg, started in 1077}

Related Posts

Sketches of Victoria Falls

Sketches of Dublin

Sketches of New York and Minneapolis

A Sketch of Bologna's leaning towers

Weekly Drawings: Week 8

{This picture expresses everything...}

This was the first week when, no matter now much I wanted to, I couldn't keep up with my resolution to draw every day.  

You know what? That's ok.  

I'll start again tonight, and keep going with my 365 drawing resolution. If, by the end of the year, there are 350 (or less) instead of 365, it doesn't really matter.  What matters is that the resolution gives me a reason to sharpen my pencils and open my ink pots.  

So here are 4 drawings for this week. That's still over half the days, so I think I'll consider it a success. (After all, the most important thing is that we're gentle with ourselves...)

I take all the photos with my iphone4 (geriatric, I know), and the pictures always look so crisp and light on my phone screen, but when I upload them here they appear blurry and dark.  I wonder why? 

And... we're off to the Austrian Alps tomorrow!  I'm sure my sketchbook will be filled with mountains and skiers/snowboarders. 

You can follow along in real time on my

Facebook page

or Instagram. ( @janeheinrichs ) 

Why I'm doing daily drawings

{All photos taken with my iphone4}

I'm not just doing daily drawings for the sake of a fun challenge; they are an essential part of my new existence as a mother.  

Just before Christmas I was diagnosed with post-natal depression. I felt like I couldn't recognize myself in my new role.  I went to my GP and was referred to a therapist.  The options seemed to be weekly therapy (which wasn't possible without childcare) or antidepressants.  I wasn't sure what I was feeling was acute or chronic enough to need medication, so I decided I needed to construct my own method for recovery. (Note: Had I thought what I was experiencing was severe enough, I would have accepted medication without question).

Daily drawings were my answer to the problem.  

So far I've managed to draw every day this year but one (when I was just too exhausted to lift a pencil).  Each small drawing is like a shot of creative happiness into my veins.

This practise is, quite literally, art therapy. 

Do you have any creative endeavours that lift your spirits?  What are they?  I'd love to know.