My first sketchbook...and it's not great.
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- Опубліковано 2 гру 2022
- Today I want to take you back in time to 2004 and show you the first sketchbook I worked in as an adult when I was returning to art making after giving it up at school. It's not beautiful, it's re-assuringly bad!
I don’t think I’ve ever shown anyone this sketchbook and I’m reticent about sharing it now if I’m honest.. There is something a little exposing and vulnerable in showing you my first faltering art steps and sharing it so publicly...
I remember how bewildering and frustrating I found art making back then, I didn’t have the skills or knowledge to make art that looked like the art I wanted to make. I used to be good at art as a child and then coming back to it as an adult, it seemed to me that I couldn’t do it anymore, that I had lost that part of me and finding it didn’t seem very easy. I wanted to make beautiful abstract art but I just had no idea what to do...and yet I find it so wonderful to look back and see that themes and threads carry forward and that a lot of the things I was interested in then are still part of my art making today.
I share this sketchbook to hopefully encourage you and show that when we are first starting out we don't make master-pieces it takes time to gather skills and find our art making style and voice. xx
#startasketchbook #mixedmediasketchbook #sketchbooks
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I actually really liked a lot of these pages.
Thank you Melanie, that's very kind of you! Thank you xx
Yay bonus video! It really is encouraging for someone like me, starting out at age 62, to see sctual progress of an artist. It often does feel like artists are born producing masterpieces the moment they pick up a pencil, and to feel like I am not part of that club. Since I took your on-line class, I’ve been making pages for many hours a day. I expect to make a book this weekend. 18 years from now, when I’m 80, I’m going to look back at it with love, thanks to your video today. I really love your enthusiasm, your eyes really glow with love for art and that is contagious!
I snuck another one is Mary. I found this sketchbook and just thought it might be helpful to share... I'm so happy that it has been helpful, I did um and ah about sharing it, but I always want to be honest, transparent and encouraging... and show that we all start with no idea of what we are doing...xxx
I'm starting out in my 60s as well. And I think that's wonderful! Enjoy every single day of beauty.
@@jimhauschultz226 It’s always so encouraging to find others in a similar situation, thank you for sharing that!
OMG!!! I adore you for sharing this!!!!!!!!!!! This is the encouragement new artists really need! Honesty! Thank you!!!
Oh thats so kind of you, I did um and ah about sharing this... but figured it's a good positive authentic thing to do. Thank you xx
So… how did you go from this beginner level to become the brilliant artist you are now? Are you entirely set-taught or did you take classes?
Gosh - I think your old work is fascinating! So much passion for pulling materials together & throwing on colour. Surely it’s where we all have to start. Thank you for the inspiration! 💗
Oh wow thank you so much, how lovely and you are so spot on I just love love love colour and mixing materials. Thank you so much Helen xx
Your first sketchbook wasn't that bad! It is full of lessons that you have learnt. We just have to make loads of art to improve and I know I don't make nearly enough. Another very useful and encouraging video Helen.😄
Oh thank you, you are kind, you’re right it’s not that bad, I was just joking around really and you’re super spot on about making lots of art…thank you Helen xx
I love your first sketchbook. It is so loose and free. And the detail...Oh! That this is your effort of getting back into art practice is amazing; all that confidence to pay attention to such detail. And there is variety there too which illustrates how you kept trying. Thank you for the inspiration and sharing yourself. I find you a very three dimensional person because you talk so much about your feelings and interests that go into your art practice. Hope you are having a good break. Thanks for popping back. This is precious.
Wow Sandra what a super lovely thing to say, thank you so very much, i really do appreciate that. Thank you. Helen xx
❤❤so glad you felt brave to share this. I and I’m sure many others will have got so much from this. I’m at that point where I’ve slumped a wee bit but whenever I do I come and watch a whole load of ur videos because they are so inspirational and encouraging. Thank you thank you thank you 💫🙏🏾🤓xx
Sorry to hear you're in a slump, there seems to be a real seasonality and circularity in art making, sometimes it's harvest time and everything feels abundant and sometimes it's winter and nothing seems to take seed or grow xxx
Thank you for sharing, I really liked a lot of the pages, can see your progress, and how you've developed, lovely to see x ❤👍
Oh thats so great of you, thank you so much Mandy. Helen xx
Oh this is so fab Helen !! I don't think its horrible though, some of those pages are gorgeous. Thank you so much for sharing and inspiring. Santa has brought me art materials and it's a massive struggle not to rip the boxes open right now 🤣
Oh that's lovely and a great Christmas present, I'm impressed by your restraint...the gift that keeps on giving. Have fun xx
I really do like how there's so much map-like patterning and it reminds me of topography, which I love the patterns of. I also can see the amazing progress you've made, which is really exciting and inspiring.
There's just something fascinating about maps and topography isn't there? Thank you so much for your loveliness... Helen x
Thank you, thank you.
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
Ira Glass
I flipping LOVE this quote! He has articulated the challenge so beautifully! Thank you so so much for sharing it with us! Just great 👍🏻
I am sorry to hear you Lauge of your previous art…it is all a process to me, and every step should deserve recognition of that!
I totally agree with you, thats why I'm sharing it, I I'm not laughing at it as such just looking back with a fondness and curiosity, i was hoping to make a positive and encouraging video to share exactly where i started and to show that so many of my interests carry forward nearly 20 years later.. I'm sorry if that didn't come across Helen x
Helen, Thank you soooo much for sharing your earlier work, I have often wondered how good established ‘artists’ work were when they first started out! Thank you 🥰xxx
My pleasure, I thought it might be useful to share the fact that we mostly all start with no idea of what we're doing and learn along the way...x
Thank you for being brave and sharing your first sketchbook. So interesting to see the tiny seeds of the beginnings of your artistic style! ❤
Oh thank you Jennifer, thats a lovely way to phrase it - we have to plant those seeds and keep watering them. 🌿 Thank you so much
Your audacity is dazzling commendable. We love every bit of what is becoming of u❤.
Thank you Helen for sharing this early work. It’s truly appreciated. Your energy is truly inspiring ❤
Thank you so much Alice, that is so lovely to know.... xx
Just brilliant. The point perfectly made with an old Sketchbook!
Oh wow thank you so much Angelina xx
love seeing your first sketchbook & how some of the lines & inks carry on in your work! also, how you've grown & developed as an artist! thank you for sharing! ❤
thank you so much for watching and your kind comment. Helen xx
thank you for sharing this, so important + valuable. for me personally it helps me to look at my past work with compassion because at the time i was going through some difficult times. i see my ability to still show up for my art as pretty incredible T^T. finding part of ourselves in our past work , seeing where we've grown and what is just who we are is so powerful as you shared here :)
Oh thank you so much, you are so right, looking at our art through a lens of compassion and curiosity is always so helpful, it can help us to join the dots... Love Helen xx
Your roots Helen :>) Thank you for being brave and sharing. It's a good and realistic encouragement that we all need to remember our beginnings. Have a wonderful rest of 2022.
Thank you so much Amber, my roots is a lovely way to say it... thank you so much. Wishing the same for you too. Helen xx
Hi Helen! You're really so brave to share these early forays into your art practice. I often cringe when I look at my older work, but then I remind myself if I still thought it was great now, then I wouldn't be growing, and that's no good! Thanks for sharing! :D
Hey Jillian, oh thank you, cringe is a great word for it... but you are so right growth is a wonderful thing to witness... xx
The glorious love of colour was there from the start. When artists are courageous and generous enough to show others their first foot steps it is so encouraging for beginners. It is a wonderful journey..we get new eyes and awareness of our beautiful earth .. life is such a privilege. Thank you for sharing.
Wow Valerie, thank you so much, what a poetic thing to say. Thank you. Helen xx
I really enjoyed most of the old art journal pages! Just goes to show how differently we all perceive "what art is!" Thanks so much for your vulnerability and for your encouragement!
Oh thank you so much Becky and you are right beauty is in the eye of the beholder xxx
I really like your first sketch book! Love the subtle drawing of bicycles, subtle mark making and colours. Taking your mark making patterns and making them smaller, they look so interesting, beautiful and delicate, bejewelling the page and image. ❤
Thank you so much Teresa! I still love subtle and intricate but I seem to be in a bolder phase at the mo. Helen x
I actually liked some of those pages or bits of the pages. Of course I am fairly new to mixed media art. 😀I could see cutting out bits of some of those pages and adding them to a collage.
Oh that's kind, I like some of them too and its so nice to see where I started. Good luck with your mixed media adventure xx
Me too, rugged. How fun 😂🎉
Hi Helen, Thank you so much for sharing your first sketchbook! I really admire the fact that you just jumped in and started filling up your sketchbook. It took me years to gather that kind of courage. After 15 years of consistent art making, I decided to allow myself to still make terrible art in my sketchbook. 💖💖💖
A true sketchbook full of experimentation and freedom 😍
Ah thank you 🙏🏼
Brilliant! Some very interesting work❤
And it’s amazing for a first sketchbook
@@cindyfromsydney7693 Oh thank you so much, kind of you to say that x
We HAVE to go through those 'early' sketchbooks to get to where we are now or where want to be! LOL So much exploration! All recorded in our sketchbooks. How wonderful!
Thank you for sharing!
Yes you are so right, we do indeed need to go through the early stages to get where we are going! Thank you so much xx
I think this is just fine and thanks for sharing this with those of us that r beginning. .We all have to start somewhere.
Thank you so much Judy, you're so right, we just all have to start exactly where we are.
Helen xx
Honestly Helen, I love your work. The early sketch book reminds me of myself...I can draw and paint what I see outside but I want to draw and paint what I feel inside. This has greatly encouraged me and even at age 70 I will keep on keeping on. Thank you for sharing.
Oh that's wonderful! Thank you Alish, keep on, keeping on is a great attitude. Wishing you every success. Love Helen x
Thank you for sharing your first work with us. I was just introduced to you through the Sketchbook Revival 2023. In January 2022, I started ‘art journaling’. I had just celebrated my 81st birthday and certainly didn’t expect to be interested in art or doing anything with painting. Talking about being a beginner. It has been little over a year of me trying all kinds techniques and buying TOO many supplies and paper. However, I love it and hope to keep creating in a sketchbook or learning to draw or paint or create collages.
What a wonderful story! Thank you so much for sharing it. I’m very impressed and believe it’s never too late to start… wishing you every success in your creative pursuits, I think it’s such a a lovely and worthwhile way to spend our time! X
Have I said I love you? Omg I laughed and enjoyed so much this video. It encourages me to keep on going, exploring and trying not to be too hard on myself. Thank you SO Much for this video (and for posting and being spontaneously honest about your work.). I learn a lot from you!
Bless you, what a brilliantly kind thing to say. Thank you so very much Karinna.... Helen XX
What a wonderful share. It’s tender and raw and a beautiful storyline of your beginnings.
None of it is bad for I can see joy in every page.
This is encouraging for us young artists to keep a record of our starting point.
Thank you so much for this share❤
Oh thank you so much Jody what a lovely thing to say, I super appreciate it. Helen xx
Good morning/ evening! Thank you for sharing so many things. I like your style. You are so beautiful! Thank you for being on UA-cam!!!!! 🖤
Oh how wonderful of you. Thank you for such an encouraging comment x
Thank you so much for sharing this and encouraging us all to keep going. There are some real gems in that sketchbook though. So pleased I have discovered your wonderful channel.
Oh that’s great! You are very welcome here. Thank you so much for your kind comment and great positivity. Love Helen x
So pleased you kept your sketch book, I only started painting 2 yrs ago and I am 70 this year so I don’t expect to ever get exactly where I would like to be but I am having fun trying and I find your videos are just so great for me, I love love love your work.
Oh wow June thank you so so much! That’s lovely of you. Wishing you lots of joy and fun with your art adventures x
It's so special to see your first sketchbook! As someone in that first sketchbook phase, I know I'm in that initial cringey art time and just have to get through it. It's good to honour your first sketchbook self and see what came out of it.
I’m so glad I kept this. It’s actually lovely to look back and plot the journey. Love Helen x
Helen, I like page3? a lot. There are lovely chucks of inspiration. I wouldn’t mind being the owner of your sketchbook. Might add more line and colour to the mostly white pages. Thanks for sharing your beginnings, there is hope for me then:). Jan
Oh thank you so much Jan, thats super duper kind of you. Helen x
This is so incredibly encouraging! Thank you so much for being vulnerable and sharing this work.
You are so welcome! Thank you so much Tonya for your kind comment! Love Helen x
How wonderful! Your style is already totally visible ❤️
Thank you so much! Really appreciate that x
Thank you so much for sharing this, i knew every artist started this way, but realy seeing the proces is so helpful and hopegiving greetings out of freezing amsterdam, ria
Wow Ria I love that - hopeful and help-giving... thank you so very much. Helen xx
I think it is GREAT!🥰
Oh thank you, thank you. Helen xx
I think your sketchbook is brilliant! WOW!!! I bet you were super proud of those playful pages. Be nice to your former self. 😘 Everytime you said "That's terrible!" I was thinking "WOW! LOOK at that!" 🎉 ❤
Thanks so much! 😊 yea I agree about the importance of being kind to your former self, but I’m also a pragmatist, when we first start creating our ambitions may be more advanced than our skill levels, art is like anything, it takes practice, experience and skill development to get good at it, and where we start is not where we finish xx
I went through my first art adventure the other day and was sort of appalled and surprised at what I had done. I had great ideas and they were poorly executed but at the same time there is something special (even refreshing) about them. Like you I saw things which have carried through my work over the years and marks which just tend to fall out of my pen, brush or whatever tool or medium I use. Most of my sketchbooks have an assortment of scribbles, doodles on the back of receipts, scraps of paper stuck in and nothing is ever what I would call finished but I have had a wonderful journey through the book. I never show anyone else my sketchbooks, they might think I am totally bonkers.
I have never thrown away a sketchbook, it would break my heart ha ha
Oh I love this. Thank you…yes you’re so right..we look back and we can see that at the beginning we didn’t know all the things that we know now but there is still an innate portion of our art that has us embedded within it…the seeds are there. Thank you. Love Helen x
Helen, thank you so much for sharing and being honest about your journey! It is so helpful for self-taught artists to see that it is normal to start out with something more naive like you show and then with time and effort our art evolves! But I still find some of your pieces really nice! And I also like doing photocopies! :)
You are so welcome! Thank you so much Lisa for your lovely comment, I'm glad it was helpful as I did um and ah about sharing it... Wishing you every success with you own art making. Love Helen
Oh Helen, I love your first sketchbook! As we know by now we've all got to start somewhere! I actually love your drawings in this sketchbook! They remind me of the neuropathic drawings that are all the rage now (intuitive/therapeutic drawings) so in a sense you were actually ahead of everyone else 😉❤ practice practice practice...this is what it takes! Personally I have a very deep need to paint and draw without the need for perfection. So yes, thank you for sharing your first beautiful attempts at art making!
Gosh how kind… thank you so much. There is something wonderful about being to trace a thread through time… isn’t there. Love Helen x
Braveheart indeed! Thank You for the extra video my friend and for sharing this special book. Many pages are beautiful indeed .... what an inspiration for all of us! Take good care always .
Oh thank you Gail for the beautiful comment and support and encouragement....Helen xx
@@HelenWellsArtist 💗 always my friend. Have a blessed break ... we will wait patiently for your return xx
So intriguing to see your early work thanks Helen
Thank you Katie! Thanks for watching xx
I love this! Thank you sooooooo much for sharing ❤️. I actually think it’s really beautiful and there are some magical elements in there! So glad you kept it xxx
Oh thank you so much that is just lovely of you to say. Helen x
@@HelenWellsArtist ❤️❤️❤️ thanks Helen ☺️, jennie xxx
That is fascinating and encouraging - thank-you !!
Glad you enjoyed it! Helen x
Thank you for sharing this, its very interesting for others to see how you can start and how you find your stile that way.
Oh that's great Karina, thank you so very much xx
Enormously helpful! Thanks.
Oh that’s great. Thank you Ann
Wow! That’s amazing! I love the ones you hate!
Oh thanks Sharon! That’s lovely… xx
Whenever artists say their art is not good it discourages other people from making art for fear of not being good enough too. “Good” is all perception. We need to get away from judgement.
Thank you for sharing your perspective .And I have a different one.. I work very hard to be encouraging and put hundreds of hours into this channel to be just that. But I also think its okay for me to talk about my own art and my own art journey and say that some of the things I made at the beginning (or indeed now) are not very good. I think that is honest and transparent. I believe art is a skill like any other that develops with time, practice and knowledge and that therefore it is actually helpful for people to see my progression...
@@HelenWellsArtist I owe you an apology, Helen. You are right. I am wrong. Thank you for all of your hard work, skill, practice, knowledge, honesty and encouragement. You are a huge inspiration to me. If I am discourage it is my own insecurities and depression, no one else's doing. You are nothing but a light. Truly. I also did not mean to comment twice. I have a brain problem and did not even realize that I had already watched this video and commented. Please forgive me.
Thank you for being brave enough to share your early sketchbook with us. It's only too easy to be discouraged and think sketchbooks should be marvellous works of art from day one. I'm guilty of that, and am easily put off because of that little voice saying 'it isn't good enough'. To be honest, I didn't think your sketchbook was bad, just that your latest ones are better! And we can see your progress, and the links to how you work now. I love your videos - you make me smile, which is an achievement all of it's own these days!
Oh wow Lynsey how nice of you. Thank you so very much…it’s always good to remember where we start is not where we end. Sending love Helen x
@@HelenWellsArtist You're welcome!💖
Thank you
You're welcome ☺️
Wonderful
Thanks so much Helen love Helen xx
Encouraged
Oh good stuff and good luck.. xx
I would love to know what classes you took between then and now to learn composition and get to where you are now. I am 67 and just getting started. Thank you for sharing.
Oh thank you so much Ronna. I took a part time fine art class at a college in London for three years, City Lit’s Fine Art Class which really helped me progress, I also think time and practice has been an extremely helpful teacher as has looking at lots and lots of art. Good luck with your arty adventures x
I think this is where i am at. I can see the potential coming, but I dont know how to get from where I am to where I want to go. Can you recommend a class or book (yours perhaps) that can guide me to the right direction. I have no clue about color or composition and often find it overwhelming.
Thank you so much for your comment. I think this struggle and challenge is such a common one… it’s hard to recommend one book or class without knowing what kind of art you are interested in, but it’s so good that you already have an idea of where you want to get to…I think it all takes time and practice… and I genuinely think mastering colour and composition can be a lifetime pursuit… the only way to get where you want to go is by trying to enjoy the process and by making as much art as you possibly can…wishing you lots of luck with your creative endeavours…xx
Just found you..am totally hooked,do you gesso your sketch book pages first before painting
Oh thank you so much! You are very welcome here. I very rarely gesso my sketchbook pages…I just tend to dive in. Xx
Far from terrible!
Well that's kind of you , thank you x
Please don't say your art is terrible! 1:50 Many of us are at the same stage and trying hard to keep going and not beat ourselves up.
The point of this video was to show we all start where we start and that art is a skill that develops with practice and time, that we progress, that skills develop…I’m sorry if that didn’t come across. I’m allowed to look back at my own work and have an opinion about it, though and to not think it’s very good… because in many ways it wasn’t, I was looking at my own progression over time…but it didn’t stop me, art making is a journey that we start without all the skills….I’m trying to be realistic and honest and I think it may be quite encouraging to know that someone who is now a full time artist didn’t make great work to begin with…
It's fun to look back on old sketchbooks right?
Oh yes it is! thank you xx
Not “terrible” at all. I don’t know why you are apologizing. If it weren’t for that “terrible” art you wouldn’t be where you are today. It’s a bit of a disappointment that you relate to your early art like that; on the contrary, you should cherish it.
Thank you so much, I think perhaps thats my self deprecating sense of humour and it hasn't translated too well, I I hoped to show that I was looking back at my art with a fondness and curiosity and that the things I was interested in 20 years ago are still dear to me..Helen x
@@HelenWellsArtist I’m happy that you’re back on UA-cam; I thought you were taking time off…always a pleasure and an inspiration to see your art and videos. 😊
A highschool teacher in his 90s had saved some of the poetry I wrote back then, found me on line and enailed it to me out of the blue. Rereading those teenage thoughts made me feel sort if like it seems Helen is describing. It makes me feel shy when I think of that immature writer but I am also happy that I was trying and learning. Now putting it on UA-cam would be another matter. I would probably feel like I needed to explain how that early work was not so developed etc, because if I didn’t acknowledge it some viewers would maybe feel compelled to point it out (lol). i do admire your bravery Helen and your progress. You are my main inspiration to try things at this late age.
@@youtubefaves6365 You're spot on, I am taking a break, I just popped back to share this video as I found this sketchbook and thought it might he helpful to share...
@@MaryGadsby How lovely Mary and thank you for your thoughtful observations. I just love that your teacher kept your poetry.You are so right... it's a weird feeling to meet your old self through your work... it comes with a mix of fondness and awkwardness, but there is also something so lovely about tracking development through time and seeing how some things remain constant...