Sketchbook Gallery is now live!
Check out five of my favorite artist submissions and learn how to submit your own
Earlier this summer, I commented on fellow Substack artist Citlaflor’s post featuring Nino van Vuuren’s art supplies and sketchbooks.
What began as an offhand comment became a whirlwind community collaboration organized by me and Citla. A few weeks later, we put out a call to artists inviting you all to share your sketchbook spread and materials.
And of course, you delivered! We received 67 submissions in a two week timeframe that we were able to compile into an online gallery hosted on Notion. From collage and gouache to ink and pastel, these artists use a wide range of mediums and all bring such a spirit of joy and experimentation to their practice. You will find something to inspire your sketchbook play, guaranteed!
View the Sketchbook Gallery
The top of the sketchbook gallery page houses some useful background information on who we are along with tips on how to search the Notion page and connect with other artists.
Missed the chance to submit your own work? It’s not too late! You can submit through our new form that will automatically sync to the gallery page so you can see yourself in the gallery instantly after submitting your image and information. Not ready to share anything just yet? The form link will live under the “How to submit” section at the top of the gallery page, so you can come back to it later when you’re ready.
Carolyn’s Five Favorite Picks
Citla and I are excited to each feature a few artists from the Sketchbook Gallery in our newsletters. There was so much playful, creative energy in these entries that made it tough to narrow it down! Here are five submissions that most caught my eye.
Bekka Palmer
Bekka Palmer, who writes Studio Sundays on Substack, is an artist and writer living in Rockaway Beach, New York. She believes art is for everybody and documents her career to create transparency in an industry with a tradition of gatekeeping.
Bekka painted this sketchbook spread with acrylic gouache in May 2024, documenting things she saw that day. Various flowers, a bird, a doughnut, and baby Baz fill the page. The small size of the painting tiles interspersed with handpainted labels makes the overall grid neat and manageable to create in a day!
Marie Horrie
Marie Horrie is an illustrator from Berlin. She loves to draw scenes of childhood with bright color palettes. Check out more of her illustration work on Instagram!
I fell in love with Marie’s use of acrylic ink and gouache in this spread. Her loose, blocky shapes are inviting, and the careful consideration of white space gives clear contrast and breathing room to each scene.
Sarah Lashinsky
Sarah Lashinsky is a designer and illustrator from Atlanta, GA. She is a former coworker of mine and I have always been a huge fan of her expressive collage work inspired by Eric Carle and Clover Robin. Check out more of her stunning illustration work!
Sarah, who has been drawn to quilting these days, felt called to explore the geometry and process of quilting with paper given her collage practice. If you enjoy the rhythmic, meditative aspects of creating, give paper quilting a try! (Alas I have no patience for cutting precise, geometric lines and shapes, so big respect for Sarah and all of you quilters out there).
Teresa Barroso
Teresa Barroso, or Blogletter on Substack, is a creative dreamer from Portugal who loves to doodle and play with colors. Mixed media and collage are her preferred techniques. She submitted a double page sketchbook drawing of her favorite art materials, surrounded by the materials themselves! I love a good meta image.
If you ever feel stuck on what to draw, drawing your materials like Teresa is a great start! Your materials are still objects that are always available to you, and they come in all sorts of sizes and colors.
Zuzu
Zuzu is a picture book illustrator, sketchbook enthusiast, and 1st generation Asian American from California. She loves to experiment with mediums and is currently seeking representation! Her peppy, vibrant sketchbook spread featuring a variety of characters (and a precious penguin) filled me with delight.
Zuzu shared a lovely Substack post last week with additional sketchbook images that didn’t make the cut. All of her work is so lovely—perhaps in the future we can allow for regular updating of our image submissions to keep them fresh!
I hope you enjoy browsing the Sketchbook Gallery, and remember to submit your own work if you haven’t yet. Did you discover any new artists or materials you want to try? Do you have any questions or feedback about the online gallery? Leave them in the comments!
It is very honorable to be in the gallery among such talented artists. So many inspiring sketchbooks! Thank you for the project and the gallery 💕
This is the tonic I needed!!! WHAT a joy!