A Low-Pressure Way to Capture Your Summer in a Sketchbook

I’ve been away for a little while, but I’m back today and sharing a look inside the sketchbook I’ve been working in over the summer.

I decided to carry on using my A5 Jacksons sketchbook, which I started earlier in the year. I really enjoyed the low-pressure way of working in it, so it seemed like the perfect companion for the summer.

Normally, when I visit somewhere, I collect photographs, bits of paper and other little scraps that remind me of the place, then work with them when I get home to create one of my layered collage art journal pages.

But summer is busy.

There are two children to run around after, days out, holidays and all the other things that seem to fill up the summer holidays. I wanted something that I could simply pop in my bag and pick up whenever I had a spare 15 minutes.

And that’s exactly what this sketchbook became.

No pressure to fill every page

I worked in the sketchbook for around six weeks, but it’s definitely not finished. There are plenty of pages with very little on them, and I probably didn’t use it as much as I imagined I would.

I’m Ok with that.

There was no plan for what the sketchbook should become and no expectation that every page needed to be finished. I just picked it up whenever I had the chance.

There are quick drawings of people on the beach, little landscape studies, textures printed from things we found, children's drawings, notes, scribbles and even a recipe.

Some of the drawings were made while watching cricket, some were done in the evening and others were snatched moments where I happened to have 15 minutes to myself.

It became a place to collect little moments rather than another thing on the ‘to-do’ list.

Turning a landscape into little thumbnails

One of my favourite pages came from a really simple idea.

I divided the page into small boxes and drew a different section of the landscape in each one. I wasn't trying to create a finished landscape drawing. Instead, I was looking at the colours, shapes and little details around me and breaking them down into tiny pieces.

My youngest joined in too, filling one of the boxes, which made the page even more special.

It reminded me that a sketchbook doesn't have to be about creating beautiful finished drawings. It can simply be a place to notice things.

A collage project inspired by Cornwall

My favourite spread in the sketchbook was a collection of small collage thumbnails inspired by our time in Cornwall.

This is also a lovely project to try when you get home from holiday.

I took some small pieces of cartridge paper with me, along with a little pouch containing collage scraps, scissors and glue. I also printed some photographs and made a few image transfers using a Gelli plate and wet-strength tissue paper.

For each little thumbnail, I gave myself a simple limitation. I tried to use just three pieces of collage paper: one patterned piece, one plain piece and one photograph.

I didn't stick rigidly to the rule, but having that limitation gave me somewhere to start.

I chose pieces based on the colours and shapes that reminded me of Cornwall, rather than trying to create literal representations of the places I'd seen.

Some of the thumbnails have something that looks a little like a horizon line. Others are much more abstract. I wanted them to capture the feeling of the landscape rather than simply reproduce it.

Once the collage was finished, I went back in with a black brush pen and Inktense crayons, extending a few of the lines and shapes from the collage.

It was a really simple way of bringing the individual pieces together and making the spread feel more cohesive.

A project to try when you get home from holiday

If you've recently been away, this would be a lovely way to use some of the photographs and scraps you've brought home with you.

You don't need a huge collection of materials. A few pieces of collage paper, some photographs and a sketchbook are enough.

And don't worry about making it perfect.

I actually think the limitations and the small scale make this project more enjoyable. You can make a few compositions in 10 or 15 minutes and then come back to it later.

It's a lovely way to turn photographs and memories into something tangible without feeling as though you need to create a huge, finished art journal.

Want to explore collage and photography further?

If you enjoy using photographs and collage to record moments, memories and places, you might also enjoy my Fragments of Time class.

In the class, I explore different ways of bringing photography, collage and art journaling together, with lots of ideas for turning your own photographs and collected scraps into creative pages.

It’s designed for those of us who want to make meaningful work from everyday moments, without needing hours of uninterrupted creative time.