How to Keep a Sketchbook Journal [Hardcover]

Claudia Nice (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 20, 2001

Keep a sketchbook journal and explore your world, preserve your thoughts and celebrate life!

More than a diary of written words, a sketchbook journal allows you to indulge your imagination and exercise your artistic creativity. It is a personal, private place where you have unlimited freedom to express yourself, experiment, discover, dream and document your world. The possibilities are endless.

In How to Keep a Sketchbook Journal, Claudia Nice shows you samples from her own journals and provides you with advice and encouragement for keeping your own. She reviews types of journals, from theme and garden journals to travel journals and fantasy sketchbooks, as well as the basic techniques for using pencils, pens, brushes, inks and watercolors to capture your thoughts and impressions.

Exactly what goes in your journal is up to you. Sketch quickly to capture a thought or image before it vanishes. Draw or paint with care, to render an idea or vision as realistically as possible. Write about what you see. The choice is yours--and the memories you'll preserve will last a lifetime.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Nice has published more than a dozen fine books, including the very successful Painting Weathered Buildings in Pen, Ink & Watercolor (LJ 3/15/00). The present volume is a delightful concept for encouraging beginning artists or for inspiring professionals. Nice explores a variety of journal styles (travel, reference, fantasy, life journals), using basic art supplies like colored pencils, pen and ink, and watercolor. In her hands, a blank book can become a visual diary, a safe place to try out ideas, or a work of spontaneous art in itself. Highly recommended.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Popular among both fine artists and decorative painters, Claudia Nice is known for her friendly, unintimidating art instruction. With over 400,000 copies sold, her nine bestselling North Light titles include Creating Textures in Pen and Ink with Watercolor, How to Keep a Sketchbook Journal, and most recently, Creating Creatures of Fantasy and Imagination.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books; 1 edition (May 20, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581800444
• ISBN-13: 978-1581800449
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,279 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Claudia Nice is a successful and well-known pen & ink artist, teacher and author in the US. She teaches students from all over the world at her studio in Oregon. Claudia lives with her husband in the Columbia River Gorge on the Oregon border.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sadly Disappointed...................:-(, June 10, 2001

By 

Tracy Clark (Tacoma, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Keep a Sketchbook Journal (Hardcover)

I too ordered this book before publication, anxiously awaiting for it to arrive. Unwrapping the packaging with anticipation, I was greeted with a beautiful looking book. However, upon opening it and reading it, I became so depressed! This book, like the earlier reviewer claims, appears to be a "thrown-together book" with old, unfresh ideas. The publisher and author are trying to jump on the current trend of sketchbook journaling. How unfortunate. I'm returning my copy.

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars May be inspiring to you, but it didn't inspire me at all, August 19, 2002

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Keep a Sketchbook Journal (Hardcover)

This is more of a "how to draw and paint" book than about keeping a journal. It is packed with plenty of drawings in mixed media from pencil to pen to watercolor and a blend of all of them.

I must say the book is attractive. The format is like a wider-than-long sketchbook, bound attractively with a wide hessian cloth band. But the drawings didn't do anything for me most of the time, though the butterflies were nicely done. There is a very handy schematic for sewing a field drawing and painting carryall to carry your book and implements with you in the field. That was a nice touch.

I already have a library of art instruction books, and that wasn't what I expected from the title. This book just doesn't have enough "journal" content for me, nor do I like the style of drawings so this isn't my cup of tea. However, you might like the style and the art lessons, so your opinion may differ completely from mine.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The search continues ...., May 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Keep a Sketchbook Journal (Hardcover)

I anxiously awaited 'How To Keep A Sketchbook Journal' , pre-ordering over a month before its publication release date. From the Title, Cover Design and description I was anticipating it really being a very helpful "how to" book for me in that I've always been on the search for "the" book that will click the inspiration of a graphic version of a journal/diary. This book has a lot of very nice examples of layouts & artwork and I especially liked the instructions on how to make your own denim field kit to carry your sketchbook & supplies. The problem I have with this book is the amount of time and emphasis that is spent on instructing at making sketchbooks bases on themes --- for a inspiration or idea sketchbook journal you would constantly reaching for the journal with the proper theme --- instead I would have preferred more information on the how to motivate and the theory of journalizing with the graphic emphasis. There are many books with the bend for the written work and I was looking for the same for the 'drawn' word. I got more of that from the two pages ( 4 & 5 ) in the introduction of Nita Leland's Creative Artist. I had hoped this book would be a more in depth continuation expounding on what was expressed there in more depth and detail. But like I said this book does have excellent drawing examples and layouts and I still find it to be an good addition to my library, just not exactly what I have been searching for.