ART AND CONSISTENCY

Hello everyone, and welcome to new subscribers!

Each time I begin to write this newsletter I am reminded of the value of consistency and showing up. When I started my blog, back in 2019, I made a commitment to myself: I will do this as long as it feels right for me and continues to serve others. So far, that commitment has stood the test of time, and the consistency of writing monthly has strengthened my ability to trust the process each time I begin again.

Sketchbook work is also a form of consistency—a tether to our practice that can inform it greatly. Much of the inspiration content I am sharing this month focuses on working with sketchbooks and how they can enhance and strengthen your insights around your creative work.

The 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge is my self-guided course that offers you a structured practice to help you build your own consistent sketchbook habit. Scroll down to find out more, including how you can create your own Group Accountability Challenge.

In this month’s blog post, I consider the topic of consistency in our art-making—how it serves us, and what to do if it begins to feel like a limitation to your expression. As always, I hope you find it helpful.

And just a reminder that my monthly blog post is also offered as an audio recording, allowing you to listen rather than read. To access the recording, click on the READ MORE OR LISTEN button in the ‘FROM THE BLOG’ section of this newsletter. You’ll find the MP3 file at the bottom of my written post on my website.

If you have any feedback, I always love hearing from you. Thank you for reading and sharing this newsletter—it is truly appreciated.

PS: For those of you that are new subscribers, I have included a link to previous issues of my newsletter, full of additional resources for you!

THE PATH OF CONSISTENCY IN OUR CREATIVE WORK

During a coaching session with a client the topic of consistency came up. The concern brought forward by this artist was that in order for her work to be collectable it needed to look consistent and, for her, that felt like a limitation.

She shared with me the two types of work she liked to make—representational paintings that featured very different palettes, that related to the subject matter she was painting. She also noted that when she tried to only focus on one of these subjects in her work she became blocked and things felt off for her. Both had meaning for her and she didn’t want to choose between them, but thought she needed to give one up and focus solely on the other to be a collectible artist. 

As we spoke, I recognized that the two subjects she was working with had a linking idea. They were each speaking to one common aspect, but expressed that aspect in unique ways. To me they were very much consistent in what they were speaking to. Sometimes we’re just too close to our own work to see the connections and throughlines. 

This discussion reminded me of an article I had read about how collectors are looking for a balance between consistency and development in an artist's work. Too much consistency can feel like stagnation in the artist’s development or a heavy focus on branding. And too much variety can be seen as not having a creative vision or trajectory with work.

So there is a sweet spot that collectors are looking for in the artists they choose to purchase work from. I found this a comforting thought, as I also want to develop and grow as an artist, and having a collector recognize this as a strength is so helpful.

Artists can have various bodies of work and/or work in different mediums as long as it is connected to something that we're exploring through our art-making that is consistent and clear to us—our vision, the idea that we are expressing through the language of art.

INSPIRATION FOR YOUR ARTIST’S MINDSET

SKETCHBOOKS: PETER HICKS

In this four-part video series, landscape artist Peter Hicks shares how his sketchbook work informs his painting practice. He sees sketchbooks as an aid to memory, carrying the essence of the landscape he is observing.

In Part 1 of the series, Hicks explains that an artist’s sketchbook offers much insight into their inner world. The pages hold “hints, hopes, and promises” for future work, revealing what was connecting, challenging, informing and captured. The artist’s mind is documented over time, and revisiting these pages brings new promises of understanding in the discovery and rediscovery.

Part 2 introduces us to the early origins of Hicks’ sketchbook practice.

Part 3 offers a glimpse into a place that Hicks returns to again and again to document and inform his paintings that make up his Masters Exhibition ‘Dawn to Dusk.’ In this video, I noticed how his approach to painting—though expressed in a different medium—carries through from sketchbook to canvas. The visual language is the same.

Part 4 summarizes Hicks’ journey with sketchbook work and how it serves his art-practice. It’s a lovely reminder of the value of deep observation as we capture the essence of a place or idea.

You can also visit the online archive of Peter Hicks’ sketchbooks HERE.

WHAT’S THE POINT OF WORKING IN SKETCHBOOKS?: LEWIS NOBLE

Artist and teacher Lewis Noble also uses sketchbooks to capture information from the landscape that informs his painting.

In this video, Noble walks us through his process of cropping and reconfiguring his field drawings into sketchbook studies, offering fresh perspectives and integral information that guide his working process. The larger field sketches are never meant to be finished works, but fuel for his curiosity as he cuts them apart to discover a visual language that feels like it holds something essential for him.

Finding new relationships—built on our own work—is expansive and opens up new possibilities for our formal practice. Often, we benefit from letting go of what we know and our habitual approaches in order to discover new forms of expression. Sketchbooks are the place for perfecting this, and provide a visual reference for future work.

I DEPEND ON MISTAKES: TOM FLANAGAN

Artist Tom Flanagan’s process of constructing abstract paintings is about finding relationships and fitting them together. He says he depends on mistakes, as they act as activators for him—guiding him toward new discoveries and relationships that he might not otherwise find. Mistakes will happen; ”what you do with those mistakes is what matters.”

Flanagan says that his work is more about listening than speaking, much like American Jazz composer and musician, Dizzy Gillespie, who said he wasn’t interested in music, but sounds. The work is about moving with what is present in the moment, finding harmony at the intersection between what is occurring and what still needs to be expressed.

OFFERINGS FOR ARTISTS

Any time is a great time to recommit to your art-making through a focussed practice, such as the one offered in the 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge Course.

Typically offered in January, this year I plan to offer my free Accountability Challenge in the fall, likely early September. This is where I join you all in the process of working through the 30 days of the Challenge, with weekly check-in posts to guide your process. In the meantime, I encourage you to invite a friend (or two, or three!) to join you in the Sketchbook Challenge to make it an even more enjoyable and enriching experience.

Here are some ideas for how to do that:

• Decide on a date to officially start the 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge so you can all begin together and support each other throughout the 30 days. You don’t have to start the 30 days at the beginning of a month—but you could. March 1st is right around the corner, and any date is a great day to begin.
  
  

• Agree on a weekly check-in. This could be over Zoom, in person, through a group chat, or by email. Regular check-ins are an important way to remain accountable.

• Decide whether you want to share your progress on social media for an added layer of accountability. Be sure to like and comment on each other’s posts.

• Use the hashtag #insightcreative30daychallenge2026 when posting on social media to make it easier to find each other.

• Schedule your first check-in for Day 1 of the Challenge, focusing on what you hope to create for yourself over the next 30 days.

• Plan subsequent check-ins one week after your start date, followed by four more weekly check-ins. It’s helpful if they fall on the same day each week.
  
  

• Craft a few reflective check-in questions that each of you can respond to weekly.

Under the RESOURCES section of the 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge Course website, you’ll find a page that guides you through completing the challenge with a group. It includes prompts, questions, and suggestions for supporting each other

So gather up your group—and enjoy!

The 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge Course is an affordable, content rich, self-guided course that can be started at any time and is always available for purchase on my website.

Once purchased, you’ll have lifetime access to the course and can repeat the Challenge at any time in the future, giving your art-making the boost it might need.

This course also addresses essential aspects of the artist’s mindset—how we think about and approach our creative work in ways that move beyond fear and limitations and open us to what’s possible

You can find out more about the 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge Course HERE.

You’re also welcome to email me at info@insightcreative.ca with your questions.

THE GIFT OF SHARING

For new subscribers – please enjoy these previous issues of my monthly newsletter. Links to additional back issues can be found on the right sidebar of my blog HERE.

If you know of any artists that could benefit from these monthly newsletters, blog posts, or any of my Course Offerings, please share this email with them and invite them to have a look. They’ll receive my free PDF download on ‘How to Make a Creativity Journal’ when they subscribe.

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