August in My Studio
Happy Sunday, Sketchbook Fam!
As August comes to a close, I’ve been reflecting on how my art journey continues to shift and evolve. I started painting with acrylics four years ago, and I became interested in illustration. I then dove deep into drawing and mixed media materials, and now I’m back to painting again! For months, I’ve felt a pull to create art that is much wilder and expansive… abstract painting.
That is where I am in my art journey right now.
There’s something very freeing about stepping away from the precision of illustration and leaning into the unknown of abstraction. It feels very natural, a homecoming if you will. This month, I found myself exploring strong, chaotic abstract landscapes-places that aren’t about replicating what the eye sees but instead capturing the energy of the environment.
These messy and layered brushstrokes allowed me to release tension that I was holding onto and create an interesting piece of art. It makes sense that I’ve been gravitating towards the work of artists like Joan Mitchell and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Both inspire me to keep pushing past neatness and perfection and lean into authenticity.
If you’ve also been craving freedom and expression in your practice, here are three prompts to play with in your sketchbook.
Scribble Storm: Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and cover the page with chaotic scribbles, using a marker, crayon, or pencil. Then, open your eyes and respond with paint, collage, and more lines, allowing shapes to emerge.
Energy Scape: Using only color and mark-making, create a landscape that FEELS like one of your favorite places in nature. Don’t worry about perspective; focus on the energy of the environment and how you feel when you are at that location. Use colors that reflect the feeling.
Layer and Erase: Build up a page with paint, and oil pastels (or whatever else you have). Then, use gesso or white paint, and collage paper to cover parts of it. Reveal and conceal until it gets to a place that you are happy with.
More than anything, August reminded me that creating art isn’t just about making something pretty to hang on the wall; it’s a form of emotional release. Every brushstroke, every mark carries what the heart has been holding. Sometimes it’s joy, sometimes it’s frustration, and often, it’s the tender voice of your inner child asking to be heard.
Creating art invites us to let those feelings move through us instead of keeping them locked inside. With each canvas or sketchbook spread, we offer ourselves permission to play, to feel, and to heal.
So as we move into September, I hope you find moments to let your creativity run wild without rules and without judgment. Your art, no matter how messy or imperfect, can be a doorway to both expression and transformation.
Watch my latest YouTube video where I share all the art I made in August.
With love, light, and creativity
Martine