This way of creating a sketchbook or using a sketchbook is not my taste, but I have heard of it and seen it used by other people
I feel like this is more of a journal than a sketchbook, but I can see how they incorporated it into the art world instead of just say like a journal that has to be done every day

This is a splendid book for anyone wanting to delve deeper into the world of art and sketchbooks. It is informative, full of ideas, easy to follow, and visually gorgeous. 👍👍

Creative ideas for the artist
"Expressive Sketchbooks. Developing Creative Skills, Courage, and Confidence" is presented by Helen Wells and was published by Quarto Publishing Group - Quarry. The book is divided into an introduction and five chapters that cover 1) Magic and Motivation, 2) Getting Going, 3) Techniques for Exploring and Experimenting, 4) Growing Ideas, and 5) Practice and Progress.
Wells states that "an expressive sketchbook is a playground for your imagination - a place to nurture your creativity and develop your own artistic style" (p. 6). She also underlines for the readers to "know that your sketchbook will not be filled with flawless drawings or perfect outcomes" (p. 6). The beginner and the advanced artist need to take note of this. Throughout the book readers can find valuable information, but Wells also encourages them to get practical and show how objects, plants, and photos can be used for inspiration.
I highly appreciated that Wells uses a broad range of media and presents plenty examples. The book is presented with excellent photographs, pictures, and design, the only thing missing is an index. I highly recommend this book for beginning and advanced artists, it can also be used as a great present for them.
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#ExpressiveSketchbooks #NetGalley

Expressive Sketchbooks is a book for the person who is struggling to use a sketchbook. I found it very inspiring in many ways and have tried out several of her suggestions already. At the same time, I found the book felt both too wordy and too much white space, and not enough inspiring pictures or ideas. Additionally the pages with a quote, a short paragraph and picture seemed meant to inspire but fell short for me, leaving me feeling like they were there just to fill out pages. I find myself extremely conflicted on how to rate this book because the parts that were good were excellent, but felt like they were few and far between in an otherwise average book. I would suggest getting this book out of the library if possible first.

I think this book is perfect for beginners because it covers things like color theory and types of sketchbooks, etc. I liked it because of that, having recently started drawing again since I was a child, I was really happy to create.

Great book at add to art collection. Good ideas for those wanting to increase their sketching and creative game.

A great guide to getting the most out of your sketchbook. At a time of focus on mindfulness, more and more of us are turning to journaling, arts and creative pursuits. This book helps encourage you to explore different media, express your ideas on to the paper and most of all experiment.
It can be a jumping off point for ideas and will help you to get your creative juices well and truly flowing.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed scanning through this book. Helen Wells included some beautiful artworks as well as some awesome ideas and tips for journaling in an expressive and visual way. I took some time to do some of the exercises in the book and it's definitely a calm and freeing work out for the creative mind.
Thanks to Quarry Books and Netgalley for the chance to review this great book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for offering me an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are entirely my own.

"Expressive Sketchbooks" is not only a good book on art techniques and materials, but an inner journey to unlocking creativity. The author focuses a lot on letting go of perfectionism and self-criticism, and embracing the journey and experimenting with your sketchbook. It's great and inspiring!

Expressive Sketchbooks is a tutorial and technique guide for developing artistic skills and confidence by Helen Wells. Released 14th April 2020 by Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 144 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

I enjoy writing and journaling. I like putting into words what I've been experiencing and processing in my day-to-day existence. I am a huge list-maker and find that for me, prioritizing different goals and dividing large projects into smaller tasks increases my productivity greatly. On the other hand, probably half of the gorgeous notebooks, sketchbooks, journals, and other paper books I bought with the best intentions sit still wrapped in plastic, unused, in my bookshelves. I am intimidated and sad/frustrated by my 'lack' of artistic talent. That's where this book helps.

The author has an accessible and encouraging style of instruction. It's a restful book to read and quite appealing graphically. Through guided instruction, she provides help with motivation, getting over starting difficulties, actual artistic techniques, finding inspiration, choosing subjects, and more practical lessons for getting over the intimidation of the blank page staring at you. (This was the most valuable takeaway for me personally).

This is a good book for bullet journals, sketchbooks, art diaries, building up a sketchbook library, art practice, mindfulness, etc.

I really loved the author/artist's wise words and advice about self kindness and avoiding being cruel with ourselves with regard to assessment.

Four stars. Lots of useful advice and accessible information.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Expressive Sketchbooks by Helen Wells
Developing Creative Skills, Courage and Confidence

A sketchbook is a place to put down ideas, try new patterns, record ideas, keep track of your art journey and so much more. It is a safe private place to express yourself that will have personal value now and in the future. With information about what tools you might want to buy or to make, hints and ideas about sketchbook needs for various mediums, papers you might want to work with when when creating collages and also creative ideas for sketching inside or outside. I enjoyed the mention of the rule of thirds, color use, light & dark, curves vs straight lines, use of background and space and the white areas when creating. This book was filled with many ideas but no specific guided activities. I think one of the greatest takeaways was that there is nothing wrong and that we all can draw though getting started is often the hardest part of the journey.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry for the ARC ~ This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

This book is full of great ideas about how to begin expressive sketching. Finding myself at home and looking for things to do this is a great one.

Wonderfully inspirational, Expressive Sketchbooks by Helen Wells, outlines basic supplies and cool techniques to motivate budding artists. While she doesn't necessarily provide step by step instructions she gives the reader lots of details to start an art project. Wells strongly suggests that research is key to success, something I have not read in other art books, but is helpful for the uninitiated. Perhaps the best part of Expressive Sketchbooks is that she touches on the psyche of the artist and the importance of self-evaluation and kindness to self. Great read!

Good for those who like using mixed media. Tips and examples are shown of what can be done and what the author has done as well. From start to finish of making different sketchbooks. To me, it is okay since I may not do it my self but like looking at people do.

Unapologetically creative. Full of tips and techniques on multimedia journaling. The photos are boldly colorful and encourage fearless creativity in interpreting the world while enjoying the journey and not focusing on the outcome. The book also walks you through different types of supplies. A thought provoking read.

As sketchbooks and multimedia journals begin being embraced as a common tool for artist of every level who needs a creative outlet, so are the books with hints and tips on how to get the most out of them. I enjoyed this book as it gave some creative practices to expand techniques and skills. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything particularly spectacular or standout ish about it either.

For me this has been a huge path to explore, express, and enjoy my own innate creativity as well as my creative imagination. I had a lot of fun as I went through all the exercises such as exploratory drawing, how to utilize colors and dynamics for the sketchbook, ways to mix media and art supplies, ways to kickstart your creativity and some other fantastic exercises. I would definitely recommend it to my schoolmates and friends.

This book is like a blog post...only longer. It offers nothing new. What was the point again?



* I received an e -ARC in exchange for an honest review from the publisher via netgalley

The author of this lavishly illustrated title encourages readers to make sketchbooks that are uniquely theirs; she emphasizes that perfection is not the goal.  Rather the book is designed as a guided journey and exploration as readers create their own books.  The author points out that a sketchbook is a safe place, kind of like a journal it seems to me. 
In our current time when it feels that there is so much to stress about, this book will be welcomed by those who need a venue to express and show feelings, thoughts, artwork and more.  Throughout the author is encouraging and non-judgmental; she is a welcome companion on the journey. 
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

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