My week's visual journaling

week 5 of 2024

Quite honestly, I have to work really hard to like anything in this image - this week’s been another blurry one and the highlight was most definitely being up in Edinburgh for the weekend, as crazy as it was to go only for 2 nights and one full day!! As I mentioned in my newsletter yesterday, we saw old friends, caught up with family, finished a 1000-piece Harry Potter jigsaw which granny’s been keeping under her table cloth for months AND I got a sneaky little solo drive back to where I used to live for a couple hours. Truthfully, I don’t feel this week’s journaling spread reflects anything of the magic of Morningside and Bruntsfield and I nearly feel embarrassed to post this but I’m glad to be keeping the momentum going with this practice and…deep down I know I’m learning in the process.

What I’ve learnt here on this occasion is to not overwork a main feature and next time I’d like to try making it smaller. For example, these flats on Mardale Crescent could be smaller and the silver birch (which I’d never noticed before until Saturday) could be larger and accentuated. I could really have had more fun with colours etc. Going smaller would also allow me more negative space to draw little symbols/illustrations/lettering for the rest of the week. As it stands, any extra drawing would have been too heavy. It’s already over-worked. SO next time, lighter, faster, less work, less of the page covered and more space for journaling. Let’s see if I can manage this in coming weeks.

Also small note, I’m posting this on a Friday morning as opposed to Friday evening/Saturday morning as I’m off to London for a sketching trip and wouldn’t be able to film the process in the same way outside my studio. All being well, I’ll be taking plenty little videos of this trip. Thanks to all who’ve shared their favourite places to visit in London Town over on Instagram. I truly can’t wait to soak in the atmosphere.