Following on from Research Task 4.0, which introduced me to Myfanwy Tristram’s visual diaries, I was asked to discover as many illustrators (or other practitioners) who have created artist’s journals or visual diaries. I then had to identify my top ten artists in this area and review what it is I like about their work. The unit guide provided a list of artists as a starting point, alongside a website which unfortunately seems no longer in use.
I began by briefly looking into each artist, looking specifically at their sketchbooks and ignoring their major bodies of work. I was just skimming the content, for now, trying to get a vibe for it and see what jumped out at me. When I reached an artist that would end up on my top ten list, it was immediately apparent. I felt drawn to each of them instantly and inspired by their work. This list provided me with 9, very solid favourite artists, and I was left to search for number 10 on my own.
I began by trying the website listed and, as mentioned, found it is no longer available. Next, I tried a google search for artist’s journals and didn’t find too much that appealed to me. So, I headed to The Sketchbook Project, a project which I have been following for quite some time and am eager to get involved in myself. I used their search function and flicked through the various themes that have been submitted throughout the years, and chose ‘A day in the life as my criteria. I felt the sketchbooks in this theme would be closest to art journals, and I was correct. A lot of the work was inspiring, and I really enjoyed seeing how people approached the theme. I chose Christopher Staples as my 10th artist, and you can see his sketchbook here.
My top 10 visual diary artists, in no particular order, are:
- Margaret Huber
- Guilherme Dietrich
- Oliver Jeffers
- Bryce Wymer
- Joohee Yoon
- Pep Carrio
- Rose Blake
- Laurent Moreau
- Lizzy Stewart
- Christopher Staples
Once I had identified my favourite artists, I began looking into them further in-depth. I first acknowledged what I liked about each artist, then I moved on to identifying the visual qualities and content in each artist’s work. If possible, I also looked through their larger body of work and tried to see how their creative identity was established in their sketchbooking. Through doing this, I realised that I loved finding artists who have all of their sketchbooks on display on their professional websites alongside their published work. I would like to do something similar, as I feel it’s important to showcase all of you as an artist. It also feels comforting and relatable to see this more ‘private’ side of an artist’s world.
After going through this process with a handful of my chosen artists, I started to notice a pattern. There were distinct overlapping themes in why I liked each artist, as well as the content of the diaries. Words like playful, colourful, fun, messy, loose, and bold kept cropping up, and content was often experimental, abstract, explorative, meaningless, and expanding on ideas or processes. It felt clear to me what I was wanting to take away and use in my own creative practice.
Looking through all of this work also led me to some interesting ideas about gender and how we are influenced subconsciously by the expectations placed on us in society. I find often that even the abstract and ‘weird’ art that women create sits in a more ‘comfortable’ space, using softer colours, gentler shapes, and pushing less artistic boundaries. Men’s work, on the other hand, often feels like a smack in the face, bolder and brighter and with much more surreal content. Whilst this is just an initial observation without much research into the topic, it’s something I’d be curious to look into further later in my degree.
Below you can see examples of each artist’s work that I felt particularly spoke to me, alongside the notes I took when reviewing them.
Margaret Huber
Guilherme Dietrich
Oliver Jeffers
Bryce Wymer
Joohee Yoon
Pep Carrió
Rose Blake
Laurent Moreau
Lizzy Stewart
Christopher Staples
Looking at how other artists approach their sketchbooks, and specifically visual diaries, has inspired me greatly. I have a new apprciation for the concept of a visual diary and I’d like to explore how I could keep something similar in my life. I notice that many people choose to keep individual diaries for specific trips abroad, and that appeals to me. I’d also like to do ‘a week in the life’ or something similar at some point. This research task has given me a lot to consider and to apply to my own work, and makes me feel quite excited about what’s to come.
Learning Log 