Do you ever feel like sketching, but you don’t feel like sketching?

By that I mean, do you ever feel like playing with your pens and paper and watercolor toys, but you have no interest at all in finding a subject matter? Here’s my 100% satisfaction-guaranteed recipe for inspiration:

Simply schedule 47 private weekly coffee dates with an encouraging, good-humored, well-known artist.

Enticing, right? I’m serious, you really can, it only takes 3 steps:

1- purchase the fun-filled informative book shown below

2- once a week, take it with you (along with your sketchbook and portable art kit, of course) to a café or park on your weekly artist’s date

3- read five pages in the book each week, then sketch to your heart’s delight!

If you’re anything like me, after five pages you’ll want to keep reading, yes, but you’ll be equally eager to start sketching immediately. After 47 weekly sessions of 5 pages each, you’ll find you have finished reading all 235 glorious pages, and magically your sketching skill, confidence, and joy will be through the roof!

I speak with some authority when it comes to knowing what encourages shy or stuck artists. My first book, “Look at That!”, has enjoyed best-seller status for well over two years and has sold over 5,000 copies worldwide. I’m so grateful for the wonderful reviews and I know those reviews on Goodreads and on Amazon have helped to drive those sales. That is exactly what I want to do for my friend Koosje Koene, because her book is well worth every penny, pound, or peso.

For those who may not know her, Koosje (pronounced “Co-sha”) is a cofounder of Sketchbook Skool which began in 2014 and went on to become the revolutionary online art school that changed my life and the lives of hundreds of people. Koosje has produced over 420 “Draw Tip Tuesday” videos on YouTube, generously offering them to all of us for free, to help us each move our creative lives along. Her spirit and enthusiasm show in everything she touches.

Many of us, including me, are spoiled by her infectious enthusiasm in her videos. I wondered how on earth that lively, expressive spirit could be captured in book form, and I admit, that is exactly why I hesitated to order her book when it came out in July 2022. And yes, I thought the same thing you might be thinking: “I DON’T need another art book, no matter who wrote it!” Nevertheless, thank goodness, I finally ordered my copy of Koosje’s book a month ago, and all I can say is, “Better late than never!” This is not, IS NOT, just another art book!

Another confession, this a happy one: I am only halfway through reading it because I don’t want it to end. I am highlighting often, rereading the best bits with a smile, and studying every drawing in detail. So yes, I do average about 5 pages per sitting because the content is so delightfully rich, like chocolate cake.

Most of the traditional art instruction books I own have a dog-eared bookmark stabbed somewhere in the middle of them, right where my slogging perseverance finally gave out.  No chance of that happening here because this book is not traditional “art instruction,” although you will learn a lot by reading it.

“Life is Better When You Draw It” falls in that rare, enticing category halfway between art instruction and memoir; its storytelling approach teaches by example rather than by direct instruction.

Artist memoir may be my favorite genre: these books (like “Everyday Matters” by Danny Gregory and my own book “Double Take“) show you first “why bother having an art practice,” so that you get a taste of all the benefits before you even approach the challenging and enjoyable learning curves.

Inspiration first, curiosity to explore more second, then, finally, information: that is how I learn best.

Seen for yourself what you think of this sampling:

Page 37- Why use a sketchbook instead of individual sheets of drawing paper

“[With separate sheets of paper instead of a sketchbook] it was easy to not “push through” a little; I’d start a drawing and when I didn’t like it, I’d stop, crumple up the paper, and start over. That, I can tell you, is a way to get frustrated about the process very quickly! … [With a sketchbook], you can give a drawing a little more love and not give up on it before the process even barely takes off… If you had binned it, the learning curve would have stopped right where you disqualified the drawing.”

Her generous illustrations on every page show a vast range of techniques, skills, and the willingness to simply enjoy mark-making. From fineliners to bold brush pens, Koosje uses them all with playful finesse.

The joy of drawing with a brush pen, ah yes. Although I had used calligraphy pens and fat felt-tip pens to draw in the past, I still shied away from these super-flexible bold brush pens. But then I read this: “This tool helps me to loosen up, and the brush tip prevents me from getting caught up in the details. You can also see how all the practice has helped me to be more playful, which brings more life to the page.”

… and the next time I was in the cafe I made sure to bring a brown brush pen with me. This was the result– such fun! An instant way to get over your shyness, get past those first “careful” marks. Just go for it! Dive in!

It takes practice to develop any skill of course, lots and lots of practice, but once you switch your approach to “let’s have fun” instead of “I need to get better at this right away,” then all the learning becomes simply play!

Finally page 60 (on the left), in case you’re still not sure you can do it.

Final Note about Self-Publishing: Koosje and I each took on the monumental task of self-publishing our books, and it is not for the faint-hearted.

The additional challenge for self-published artists (as opposed to novelists) is that illustrated books, especially heavily illustrated books, do not translate well at all to an eBook version. So don’t be disappointed that this amazing book is only available in paperback format. There’s a very good reason for that, and once you have it in your hands you’ll understand. The paper and print quality are outstanding, unlike any other paperback book I own. Koosje’s book design is so rich, so complicated, so brilliant (her designer Tosca Lindeboom is a genius), and you have only seen a tiny bit of it here.

Do yourself a favor and buy the paperback as soon as you can. This book deserves to be in your hands, literally.

Here’s the link again, and remember, ordering from The Great British Book Shop is the best way to go. It is economically better for the well-deserving author, and you will receive it for the same price and just as quickly as you would if you had ordered it from Amazon. Remember to leave a review on Goodreads or anywhere else you can, including in the comment section below. I’m eager to hear your reaction to this delightful book.

*******

If you find these posts valuable, please consider making a contribution of any size to The Tip Jar. It helps keep this website solvent and is greatly appreciated!

As always, feel free to forward this post to anyone you think might enjoy it.

Questions? Comments? Public comments can be posted below.

Private questions or comments will reach me by using the Contact link here.

And, as always, thanks for joining me in some time “aloft”!