Wrapping up 2025

As the year draws to a close, I found myself experiencing a sense of not having accomplished much. I knew objectively that I did a ton of sketching this last year but still I felt like I hadn't done much. I couldn't fathom where this feeling came from. So I took out my sketchbooks and did a rough tally of sketches and subject matter. Here's what I found:

  • 459 urban sketches (sketching in the moment, not from photos, not necessarily whole scenes)
  • 380 human (at least head if not whole body)
  • 181 mugs (I had a phase)
  • 168 animals/insects/fish (not cats)
  • 124 cats
  • 92 hands (often overlapping with mug sketches)
  • 63 landscapes
  • 27 interiors
  • 17 self portraits (I'm terrified of sketching self portraits)
  • A gazillion of miscellaneous plants, furniture, vehicles, buildings and whatnot
  • I completed 2 whole sketchbooks and finished up 4 that were started between 2019 and now and have lingered incomplete for a while.

Okay, wow, 2025 was a busy year. Having those concrete numbers in front of me was both buoying and daunting. I hope to keep up my sketch practice in the coming year, to work specifically on specific subjects (feet, perspective, interiors, landscapes, animals, etc.). I would like to become more playful, fearless and self accepting. It would be nice to see more completed sketchbooks on the shelf at my desk. (Yes, I named all my sketchbooks. More on that later... ☺☺☺)



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