This is an interesting book. It's full of ideas to help you on your sketching journey. Highly recommend. I received a complimentary copy from #netgalley of #sketchbysketch by #sheiladarcey I was under no obligation to post a review. #art #drawing

Fascinating way of pulling out thoughts. I love every prompt even when I didn't fully grasp why I was doing it. Fabulous self help book but it also helped me work on my art.

I sketched, painted, and when did paint pours using the prompts. This can be used in a number of ways to get through and understand your feelings.

This is an art therapy sort of book. I expected to enjoy it a lot more than I did. I love art but it was perhaps a bit too cerebral for me and felt a bit like homework and it just didn't excite me. I did not post a public review since it was not a great fit for me.

This book was more than I thought it would be. There are over 40 sketching prompts that cover a variety of topics. These prompts are meant to help you connect with your emotions.
I really enjoyed these sketch exercises.

Sketch by Sketch is a philosophical and compassionately written book on art as a therapeutic activity by Sheila Darcey. Released 4th Jan 2022 by Macmillan on their St. Martin's Press imprint, it's 352 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a book full of inspiration and encouragement to start and sustain a daily art habit by mindfully sketching (and processing) feelings, experiences, and thoughts. It's gently written and I found the exercises very restful. I can certainly understand how creating time to sketch daily would have positive mental (and probably physical) health benefits.

The book's layout is easy to follow and accessible. There are prompts and blank areas for readers to fill in to build up a library of shapes and outlines. The author expends a fair bit of effort on explaining the whole process and the tutorial chapters which follow and delineating some ways to examine our feelings objectively. I found some good info in this chapter since I'm not always consciously aware of what I'm actually feeling emotionally on the deepest levels.

The 21 tutorial chapters contain prompts for exercises on hope, faith, love, truth, belief, silence, trust, courage, and more. This is very much a book which craves active input; not a passive book, and it's not a traditional technique book either. It reminds me in some ways of zentangles, but it's not at all derivative of that system.

Finally, the author has included a solid reading list of ancillary books on allied subjects which will provide readers with hours of further exploration.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

What a beautiful, inspiring book. I haven't finished it yet, but I am already compelled to write a review. The author writes in a similar way to Julia Cameron of "The Artist's Way" and while I felt some trepidation coming into a book like this, she left me feeling utterly safe to try this sketching practice. I look forward to purchasing this title when it is available.

I was skeptical I would connect with this book because my artistic abilities are quite low. However, Darcey offers worthwhile insights and exercises even for the artistically limited. The exercises didn't all land, but those that did were really beneficial. It was a great way to expand beyond my comfort zone while feeling supported in self-discovery. Recommended.

I have tried to meditate daily and or journal daily for years with zero success. But this book mixes both things with art and that was what I was missing. It made such a difference and really helped me work through and process a few different things. Highly recommend this for any creatives who are looking to put a daily practice into their life.

I'm not much of an artist but I loved how this book helps you realize that this isn't so much about doing great art but expressing yourself in a new way that gets in touch with emotions. I'm a huge journaling fan, so this was a great way to add another layer to how I journal. I love the prompts throughout and I like how this encourages you to think about the emotions you get in touch with while you sketch. This is a book I'd definitely recommend.

“You don’t have to be an artist to be a creator. You don’t have to be perfect to create. You don’t have to be fearless to take the leap.” - Sheila Darcey, Sketch By Sketch

CW for this book: The author describes memories of domestic violence at the beginning of chapter 4: Sketch Silence. There are other potentially triggering topics discussed throughout the book (e.g. individual experiences with anxiety, PTSD), but not in detail or for extensive lengths of text.

Sketch By Sketch is a very accessible introduction to a self-help art therapy practice. Each chapter begins with the author’s personal anecdotes, thoughts, and experiences with the topic of the chapter, like Hope or Silence. There are defined sketching exercises and prompts that provide clear enough guidance to be easily understood without feeling too restrictive or prescriptive about what “should” be drawn. After each sketching exercise, a set of reflection questions invites the reader to analyze their experience.

Also interspersed through the book are small stories about other people and testimonials from participants in the author’s SketchPoetic community and/or workshops. I found that these parts helped to make the practice seem more real and allowed me to see how pieces of it may fit with my own experiences. It does feel a bit cult-y though, as many standardized/commercialized self-help practices tend to.

Recommended for: those looking for permission to reconnect with their inner artist to express things that are hard to put into words; fans of Zentangle looking for a more emotional connection with their meditative drawing practice

I received this book free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I read this book in electronic format, but would recommend a paper copy instead to better connect with the art and make sketches and notes as you read.

Sketch by Sketch is a beautiful text that uses the energy that drains us through mental health struggles and channels it into doodling. I say doodling because I thought it would be a book to teach me how to draw certain things. Instead, the author trusts that the reader will use their self-knowledge and drawing ability to move forward. I wish that the text was more of a 'how to' because I'm not so sure about my sketching ability, and it would give me the confidence to dive fully into the work. However, if you already love art and struggle as we move into the dark winter months, this is a great book.

Usually, I enjoy reading art books, but for some reason I just couldn’t get into this one. It felt too “wordy”. The book focuses on sketching your emotions. Some of the prompts were interesting. There were drawings and illustrations throughout the book. I enjoyed the Q & A at the end of the book. The reading list that was provided was much appreciated.

Love the wide variety of prompts and the way Darcey breaks down the exercises. I am definitely not creating masterpieces but that's OK! I'm learning to trust myself in my art and be more willing to accept imperfection.

A realistic way to get started sketching or to expand your skills.
The book goes through a variety of practice drills and inspiration for pencil and colored pencil sketches, everything is organized in a very free-flowing way, which I appreciate. It made me feel like I could skip around the book, try new things, just experiment and spend some time sketching.

I'm not an artist, by any stretch of the imagination, but I do know the benefits of art therapy, etc, so I was interested in checking out this book. I like how the book is focused on shifting one's focus/negative thinking, something that's very important! There's a nice variety of prompts, so there's likely to be a bit of something for everyone.