44 Comments
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Lucy Nersesian's avatar

Thank you for not closing the cover while we look inside. This was a real pleasure.

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Grant Snider's avatar

You are welcome!

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Marisa's avatar

Oh wow, thank you! This was such a joy-ride. PS Your wall has a superior colour. Together with the red sketchbooks it makes an Augenweide (feast) for my eyes 🤩. I love your art work. 🙏

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Grant Snider's avatar

"augenweide," great word! thank you Marisa.

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Kelly Rider's avatar

Thanks for these glimpses into your process, and notes, sketches, brainstorms... creative philosophy! I teach middle-high school Art and like to share your comics with my students. This whole post is helpful for art students-- practice, play, be ok with imperfection... I look forward to sharing your writing with them, too.

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Grant Snider's avatar

One of my only useful pieces of advice to young artists: keep a notebook! Thanks for sharing the comics, Kelly.

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Jono Hey's avatar

I love seeing the workings. Thanks for sharing! Like the insights from Jillian Hess' Noted Substack.

One of my favourite books is of Da Vinci's notebooks: https://www.taschen.com/en/books/art/05421/leonardo-the-complete-drawings/

FWIW, your sketchbooks are as beautiful as the finished drawings.

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Grant Snider's avatar

Thanks for the links! And I think every artist struggles with how to make a piece of finished art retain the energy and dynamism of the sketch. Always a challenge.

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Thomas Cleary's avatar

I approach my poetry in the same manner - with notebooks and scraps of paper filled with ideas which might form the basis or the heart of a future verse. And, as you, I enjoy writing them so that others can enjoy them and possibly use them as jumping off points for their own lines of thought.

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Grant Snider's avatar

Well said, Thomas! Glad you find the same joy in notebook scraps.

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Deborah Rehmat's avatar

Thank you for this! And for calling it 'notebook' in the title which helps demolish the idea of feeling that a 'sketchbook' is something to be curated carefully in order to present it to the world. Perish the thought! Long live scribbles, coffee stains, sloppy drawings, mumbling incoherencies and odd thoughts. I'm off to do some of this in mine.........

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Grant Snider's avatar

Yes! Careful curation is the enemy of my sketchbook practice :)

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Deborah Kelly's avatar

You are oh so generous, and ultimately, inspirational!

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Kirsten Carlson's avatar

We are sketchbook-kin! Mine are soo messy and your mini-poster is so spot on, thank you for sharing it and your world over on FB. I'm following you now and will send some moola and become a subscriber. : ) Keep creativitying!

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Grant Snider's avatar

Thank you, Kirsten!

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Anni's avatar

This resonates so much with me: „life is what happens to other people. Me, I‘m an observer“!

And thank you for the look into your notebooks. I love to see how other people work and think and get creative.

I somehow still fear to get messy, to step out of the frame, to let go of the rules.

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Grant Snider's avatar

Saving that line for a future novel!

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Lisa Cunningham DeLauney's avatar

Thank you for sharing your sketchbooks. I recognise those feelings of not wanting people to see the process, something not finished or good enough. But also the curiosity to see someone else's process.

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Grant Snider's avatar

Thank you, Lisa!

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K.J. Wilsdon's avatar

Also quotes and good poems.

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Grant Snider's avatar

Yes!

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Minaz Ansari's avatar

Really insightful. Loved understanding your process. I so resonate with the love for sketchbooks!

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Grant Snider's avatar

Thank you, Minaz!

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Beth T (BethOfAus)'s avatar

Happy sigh. Wonderful. Thanks so much.

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Grant Snider's avatar

Thanks Beth!

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Paula Borchardt's avatar

Thanks for sharing your sketchbooks - I loved seeing them!

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Grant Snider's avatar

Thank you Paula!

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Kathlyn's avatar

I loved that tour through your mind/sketchbooks. It’s always fascinating seeing any artist at work!

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Grant Snider's avatar

Thanks Kathlyn, I appreciate it!

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Sue Cauhape's avatar

This was fun... and inspiring. Now and then, I pick up a pencil or pen and try to draw. Really disappointing. But if I just push myself to practice, as you have over the years, who knows. Something's got to improve. Thank you for this encouragement.

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Grant Snider's avatar

Hope you continue to build the enjoyment of drawing, I think the difficulty is worth it!

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