Assessing my February Weeknotes Experiment

This year began with a big intention to illustrate more of my life in my sketchbook. I’ve created those kind of pages haphazardly for years now, but I thought I would commit to a more rigorous practice. I got going in January but I challenged myself and followed through in February to create daily entries called Weeknotes where I painted one thing about my day each day and compiled them into a weekly sketchbook spread.

(I explained the project in my February Cover page post and shared spreads each week here on the website and on instagram.)

Now it’s March and after a full month of that Weeknotes experiment, I have some thoughts. And also new ideas for where I’m headed.

First, I loved painting these little illustrations. I stuck to goauche all month with the intention to express something of my days in an abstractified way (less realistic drawing), and it was great practice.

I learned a lot about painting with this medium as well as about my style. The seven pics in this post are my favorite from this Weeknotes month of illustrations, and I think there is a throughline. There’s a certain graphic quality. I like bold, high contrast color and shapes, and I guess I like clean lines. And a bit of quirkiness.

And yet…as these last two images created later in the month reveal…huh Maybe it doesn’t have to be so loud. And maybe I can go with more texture and layers. I think I like these two pictures the most.

All in all with this Weeknotes experiment, I gained a lot of clarity. Yes about painting and style, as I said—but also, more importantly about what I really want out of an illustrated journaling practice. And guess what? It isn’t to create daily illustrations of something in my life.

As much as thought I wanted to do illustrated journaling as part of my art practice, I realized this month that what I REALLy want, what lies beneath the surface of this ongoing creative desire to express myself—is 1) to create with paint and other art mediums because I love it (loving doing being enough of a reason), and 2) to express not necessarily what I do in my days, but what it feels like. To follow how I feel, in other words, rather than what I do.

So - I think I scratched that itch for documenting my days. I want to focus more on the pleasure and practice (and development) of mixed media painting and creating daily pages in my sketchbook that express rather than document.

Now, some would say (and my Inner Critic would lead the charge) that this is me quitting ("Again.”) But actually, let’s reframe: This is me evolving.

And actually? I’m proud of myself.