I enjoyed this book. She emphasizes embracing imperfection in your drawing, and I could use help with that. You start by breaking things down into shapes and simple line drawings, and then she moves on to perspective. I enjoyed the quick sketching of figures. There were recommendations for websites for more art practice and information on breathing techniques, CBT, and DBT.

Mindful Sketching is a guide book to both exploring how to sketch, and the art of mindfulness (without being full of the 'wellness' buzzwords)

While the book is text heavy, it is not dense with it, and there are some solid art principles laid out in the pages. There are tutorials for how to view a scene with the eye of a sketcher, pespective, scale, framing and balance, alongside photographic examples and places to practice for yourself. Architecture, nature, still life and people are all treated to the same exploration.

The underlying theme of this book is to embrace imperfection in the art - want to draw with pen? do it! Wobbly lines? They're fine! It's all about the emotion and the headspace to draw. There are drawing prompts, challenges (three minute timers!), a guide to knowing when to stop and overall trusting the process for mindful sketching.

I'm all about art therapy, and this is a great resource even if one is not an artist

~Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~

I found this really interesting and relaxing. I have recently taken up drawing and this has helped me understand how it makes me feel and what started me to draw.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Part art instruction, part meditation guide, Peggy Dean's Mindful Sketching is designed to inspire and encourage aspiring artists. Dean includes some materials and techniques, but this is not a drawing 101 book, and readers may want to supplement with a more basic instruction book. Rather, it will help you develop a sketching practice as a way to explore the world and improve your technique at the same time.

I didn't love this. The goal was okay, but the presentation was incredibly text-heavy. This book struck me as much more self-help that creativity. It focused on mindfulness and meditation, with just a few sketching skills added in. This writing felt very personal to the author's journey and the art has a distinct style.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Mindful Sketching is a fantastic no nonsense way to just relax and enjoy drawing fir the sake of it. It’s ok to have flaws and imperfections it’s ok to be bold, it’s ok to not draw with realism or 3- demential proportions. It’s ok to relax enjoy and make it your own. Super fun no stress book for anyone just wanting to declutter their mind without the fear they can’t draw a perfect rendition and love the one they create. Highly recommend it!

This is a delightful book that encourages us to journal with drawing and offers lots of practical lessons and steps one can take to incorporate journaling with art into our lives. I highly recommend this book to journalers, those who think they're not artistic, those who wish they made more time for creativity in their lives, and just about everyone.

As someone who uses sketching and watercoloring to stay mindful, the idea of this book appealed to me, and the author did not disappoint. Indeed, she far exceeded my expectations with easy-to-follow lessons on perspective, contrast, choosing something out of a scene to draw, turning 3D into 2D, finding the vanishing point, creating shadow and light, framing your subjects, and techniques for sketching people, food and architecture.

The book is chock full of exercises and ideas, and its last chapter focuses on mindfulness meditation and how to use art to achieve greater inner peace. I highly recommend this book, which was given to me as an ARC by Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. (I'm so happy I downloaded it onto my Kindle so I can keep going back to it again and again; it's the kind of book you will want to refer to again and again.)

Relaxing, hypnotic and, of course, mindful. Allows your mind to wander yet focus, while you create beautiful meditative drawings. Great gift idea!

I first discovered Peggy Dean while dabbling in brush letter and botanical drawing, so I was excited to receive an ARC of this, her newest book, courtesy of Netgalley and Sasquatch Books, in exchange for my honest review.

Right from the start, Peggy is upfront about her personal struggles with the whole concept of mindfulness, and many of her personal challenges resonate strongly with me. She encourages us to think of mindfulness more as awareness for the purposes of this book. Slowing down, being more aware of our surroundings and what we can find in them in that moment. And then drawing them! She is quick to confirm that this is not about creating the perfect work of art, and no previous drawing skills are needed for the exercises she teaches. It's all about looking at a scene, finding what appeals to us, taking note of the emotions and feelings the scene is stirring in us, not about getting every tiniest detail of that scene correct and perfect. Finding the little things that are bringing you, if not joy, then contentment and an escape from our daily stressors, and making note of them in sketch form, for future reference and memories.

There are tips throughout the book for sketching different scenes, and breaking things down into basic shapes, notes on perspective and sketching people, as well as tips for drawing flowers. All in all, it's a great read, with exercises and tips to encourage anyone to slow down, take a break from screens and finding something worth sketching in their present surroundings. This book, like her others, did not disappoint.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I am a huge proponent of using the arts to help people with mental health issues, so I was excited to get my hands on <b>Mindful Sketching.</B> Part workbook, part "self help" book, the author takes you through many "how-to" sketching and mindful exercises. The book is well laid out. With plenty of visually pleasing and colorful sketches, to spark your creative imagination. There are also sections that include practical advice, like "materials" and "techniques" that will help beginners get ready for their own mindful sketching journey. Two thumbs up from yours truly!

**ARC Vua NetGalley**

This is a good book but be aware that it is more about mindfulness and embracing imperfection than it is a drawing tutorial book. I was hoping for more actual art instruction. This is still a great resource though.

This is a great instructional book for beginners who want to become more involved in drawing, sketching and doodling. I love that the main point indicated here is "mindfulness", when I'm pretty sure it's actually "mindlessness" that's the goal. To let your mind roam free and just relax and draw, as a sort of therapy almost... To be in a meditative state, ya know? Anyway, however you choose to say it, drawing is indeed a great way to unwind and enjoy yourself as you develop and grow your artistic skills. I highly recommend this book for all the art babies out there - some really great tips and tricks are ahead!

Thanks netgalley for giving me the advanced pdf so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 🧡

Peggy Dean's book is an invitation to use sketching as a way to practice mindfulness. To slow down and observe the world around you and take time to re-create it on the page. She gives simple but comprehensive sketching instructions and covers all of the basics like perspective, buildings, people, etc.

This is the perfect book to get you started on your sketching journey and to help you practice mindfulness alongside this wonderful pasttime.

with gratitude to netgalley and Sasquatch Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Mindful Sketching: How to Develop a Drawing Practice and Embrace the Art of Imperfection is full of wisdom and exercises to help you combine the mental health benefits of mindfulness with the joy of sketching. Think you can't draw? Guess again. You absolutely can, and sitting down and focusing on the object or scene in front of you is an excellent way to still your mind and give yourself a 'brain break'.

I've got all of Peggy's books, and I think this is my favorite so far. Well done!

It’s been a while since I reviewed an art book, but I’m forever looking for ways back into the hobby, the creative part of myself. I’m also a big fan of meditation and mindfulness, so the title of this book sounded perfect. It turned out not to be quite what I was expecting, but actually, I really liked it a lot more.

I think it’s fair to say that the past few years have been tough on us all, in many different ways. While I picked up this book expecting to find tips for drawing, it turned out to be much more a book on mindfulness, using sketching as a different ‘way in’. And I love that!

There are so many benefits to a hobby like sketching: it takes you out of yourself, it can put you into that ‘flow state’, and can just let you express yourself non-verbally – art therapy being totally a thing. The author encourages the reader to use sketching for all of these things, and as a way of filling an otherwise frustrating delay, be it hours or just a few minutes. She encourages you to look more closely at a scene, to find things that catch your eye, and to examine how things make you feel. If you’re at all ‘arty’, you’ve probably already had that moment of “Oh, I wish I could capture that!” – but have you ever stopped to think why that scene, that moment, caught you like that?

So it’s not just about art – although there are lessons here in materials, perspective, framing, and (I think very importantly) not going into too much detail. I’m not 100% convinced you’ll understand perspective or be able to apply using a pen as measurement from the brief overview (I mean, I’ve known this for years and still struggle a lot!), but even if you can’t quite catch the technicality – it does feel a little like someone who finds a thing very easy not necessarily realising that others can’t – there’s still plenty of examples and demonstrations to at least get you going. And as the book says, “the end result is just a bonus”.

Because, yes, I do think this is more a book on mindfulness, on celebrating life. That art is the medium is just one route.

For me, I haven’t made as much of a start on actual sketching as I’d hoped, and I know when I do I want to come back to a lot of the exercises and tips again. But more importantly, I feel very encouraged to try more sketching and use a lot of the tips here: not going for too much detail, seeing that imperfect often looks nicer, and even the subtle use of colour. I certainly feel more okay about just trying to capture the little scenes that, for whatever reason, speak to me. I know my results will probably frustrate me – Peggy Dean makes it look *so* easy, but it’s not – but perhaps I can stay mindful that I’m a beginner, and the only way to ‘get good’ is to keep trying. And most of all, enjoying the journey.

“Please embrace imperfection as it arises and celebrate your ‘mistakes’ (If I may say so, you’ll find this works in all areas of life.)”

Buy this book right now! I so very much enjoyed reading this book and trying out the exercises and prompts! Author and artist Peggy Dean leads readers through an in-depth guide into mindful sketching. Not only does dean talk about her own journey with mental health, but she gives excellent advice for readers who want to implement mindfulness as well as resources for those seeking more mental health help. Additionally there is excellent information, technique, and advice for those who want to begin sketching or want to try a new approach to sketching. I was so inspired by this book! I took many notes and I am beginning to implement mindful sketching into my routine. I would recommend this book for readers young adult who want to work on mindfulness in a creative way.

Mindful Sketching is a brilliant book aimed at people who would like to learn to sketch while out and about and by just observing the world. It encourages a relaxed, imperfect style where just having a go is more important than producing a piece of art. The author encourages you to draw what you feel and what evokes an emotion or response in you. The benefits of being present, slowing down, and concentrating on the experience all around you are highlighted. Sketching forces you to slow down in a crazy, fast paced world. The little exercises are genius and the author cleverly teaches some complex techniques in a super easy way. I love the book, just reading it made me feel more mindful and relaxed and had me reaching for a drawing book to have a go. Fantastic. Super Highly recommended.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Mindful Sketching is an art workbook/sketchbook self help manual combining art and sketching with mindfulness and mental health. I loved the concept of this book and enjoyed that it was broken down over eleven chapters all relating to sketching, art and mental health. Practicing mindfulness in the world of today is very important and often something so many of us struggle to do for ourselves or fit in to our hectic lifestyles. This book combines two topics and blends them to help support aspiring artists and positive mental health practice. The book covers all aspects of sketching and encourages on the go sketching, ideas of things to sketch, awareness of what we see around us and encourages us to let go and feel free and non critical of what we draw.

This is a lovely, very personal book about using sketching as a way of noticing -- awareness and mindfulness.. Ms. Dean's point is that noticing doesn't mean reproducing perfectly what's in front of us, but teasing out what's important to us: a shape, a color, a feeling and then trying to sketch that. The book includes sections on materials, scale, and composition but what resonated most with me was the content related to understanding what we're sketching, and why it might resonate with us.

Mindful Sketching by Peggy Dean
~ How to develop a drawing practice and embrace the art of perfection imperfection ~

Preparing for a trip that will require over twenty-four hours reminds me of previous trips…more than one had me in an airport on a long layover and one memorable layover had me buying colored pencils and paper then sitting around a table sketching what I saw, I went into greater detail and beverage bottle but all around me was fare game. This book would have come in handy had I had it to refer to at the time. I wonder if my children and their friends remember passing the time sketching at that table, too?

This is an art/sketching book that incorporates “mindfulness” in the way the author sees it – as an “awareness” of what we see and experience. Perhaps sketching allows us to deal with suppressed thoughts and emotions if we choose to let that happen. Ms Dean also speaks of taking up sketching with the intention of being imperfect but in so doing putting down what we see and feel in the moment.

The book has easy to follow directions with examples related to perspective, scale, and framing that make it simple for anyone sketching anywhere to use. Two-point perspective and having people “on the sightline” was something new to me and well worth learning in a new way. The suggestions on choosing subjects to draw and how to assess what is important were relevant and helpful with a lists and questions to ask oneself when preparing the “why” of what will be sketched.

This is definitely a book I can see having on my bookshelf and will look for when on my next trip to the USA. I have also decided to pack some pencils – lead and colored pencils – with a sketchbook should I be inspired to sketch on the long trip to the USA.

Thank you to NetGalley and Spruce Books – an imprint of Sasquatch Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars