Studio Notes: The Value of Doodling
Most of my studio time happens alone. I enjoy that space, and I need it. But I’m also always looking for ways to keep my creative work going while still being around my wife and family. Not everything needs to happen behind a closed door. Being an artist can actually be quite lonely, even if you’re an introvert and you need that time away to recharge.
One way I do that is by working on smaller collage pieces at the kitchen table while everyone else is watching TV. I’ve done that a lot, and I’ll keep doing it. Another way I’ve just started up again is doodling while I’m sitting on the couch and watching TV.
I try to turn my brain off and let my hand move. One continuous line. No plan. I aim for some kind of structure so it doesn’t turn into pure scribble, but beyond that, I just go. Once the initial drawing is down, I go back in and refine it. Strengthen lines. Fill solid areas. Add new elements with different pens. Eventually, I color everything in with markers.
The end result is a picture of nothing in particular, as you can see. But the focus required to work through all the lines, shapes, and connections pulls me into a deep flow state. It blocks out the rest of the world. It’s restorative.
I’m convinced that intense focus is the real secret sauce here. The challenge of taking something rough and turning it into something visually interesting is engaging, calming, and genuinely fun.
The first time I shared one of these doodles on Substack, I almost didn’t post it. It felt random. Disposable. Not especially “good.” But I shared it anyway. I even said when I posted it that this may not be great art, but it was definitely great therapy. To my surprise, it sparked a lot of interest and conversation. People connected with it in ways I didn’t expect. It’s funny, after all the art that I’ve posted on Substack, this was the post that got the most attention.
It’s not the direction my larger body of work is heading, but I plan to keep this practice going. For all the reasons above. It also reinforces something I come back to often: there’s no such thing as bad art. There’s always someone out there who will connect with what you make. The real work is finding them.
If you want, you can follow this link to read the comments and add your own thoughts to the conversation around that first doodle.
This week, I also returned to another direction I’ve been exploring. Moving beyond fully abstract work and abstract seascapes and getting a little closer to the real world through abstract portraiture.
These pieces use painted paper collage along with vintage magazine and text elements on heavyweight paper. I’m still working to connect them to the sea. In the current piece (rough, in progress), you see below, there’s a woman by the water, and the ocean is present more as atmosphere than subject. It’s more specific than much of my other work, and I’m enjoying that shift.
The process is definitely more meticulous, so I’ve been keeping multiple pieces going at once. That way, I’m not locked into a single mode of working. I need room to explore. Moving between doodling, fully abstract work, seascapes, and portraits has kept me busy, productive, and genuinely excited to sit down and work.
Lastly, I’ve been developing a new podcast idea and recorded the first episode. I’m keeping it under wraps for now while I decide whether it’s something I want to commit to long term, but the concept feels promising.
Like most creative people, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how creatives across disciplines think, work, and keep going, and what we can learn from the way they move through the world. The show will explore both well-known creatives and people working quietly without much attention at all. Chefs. Writers. Artists. Musicians. Woodworkers. Builders. Designers. Engineers.
What interests me most isn’t just what they make, but how they think while they’re making it. The ideas they return to. How the process feels. The perspectives they’ve formed over time. And why those ideas might matter to anyone trying to live a creative life, even if their work looks completely different.
