Year in Sketchbooks - 2024.

Putting together a summary of a year takes time, and I start  this process in December and continue to January - because the year ends on December 31st and also just because it takes a lot of time actually to go over all that I planned to do, all that happened and try to see it objectively and subjectively: it in numbers and feelings. I enjoy knowing how many miles I ran, how many books I started vs books I finished, projects I did, and places I visited.  

One of my metrics is the number of sketches and also the number of sketchbooks. One of these numbers went down this year (number of sketchbooks went from 4 to 4 1/2 - I am about 2/3 through Sketchbook number 158 now) and another number did not actually change. I think these are the "fattest" sketchbooks I've ever had! The weight is usually gained from all the additional sketches that I tape and glue in - see the picture below! I think I was trying to slow down the rush of time and change that was happening in my life this year and it was hard to finish sketchbooks and move on to another one when so much of my life was still in the previous sketchbook - preserved in sketches of everyday moments.

I started way more personal projects than I finished this year but I did well on the client side of things and finished all that I promised. One of the clients projects was finally put up as a physical object in real life and I even got to visit it and take photos - I will be writing about it soon. I found a rhythm and a supporting wave of energy by drawing with people online regularly in several groups. I drew in person with my wonderful sketching friends quite regularly and met some of the artists who became my friends on the internet in real life which was super exciting! I traveled, took my parents to uncountable number of appointments and drew through it all. My gouache adventures took a slower lane with the move to a new studio during summer, but I developed my portable printing kit further - to a point where it became my constant travel companion. I went back to some extreme sketching with a bit of kayaking and scuba-diving adventures with a pencil in hand. I drew people and plants, buildings, and forests and enjoyed sharing my new experiments with people online and in person. I put up a little community art show at the end of the year and sent some work for consideration for shows and projects. And kept sketching every day so it's a win!