Three Simple Ways To Fix Sketchbook Mistakes

One of the things that always kept me from really delving into a sketchbook practice was that I was afraid of making mistakes, yes indeed! Of course I make mistakes all the time, but in the case of a sketchbook those mistakes would be stuck in the sketchbook forever, as one does not tear out pages! Maybe a bit on the perfectionist side, I know, but what can I do, I’d rather forget about my mistakes, or better yet if I could view the mistakes as successes? You might think that this problem would keep me from ever touching a sketchbook, and it has, sometimes. Other times I just have faith that I won’t make any uncorrectible mistakes and I hope for the best. That is until a few weeks ago when i realized that I CAN actually fix the mistakes I make or pages that I don’t love in my sketchbook, and I am just over the moon about this, as it takes away all the fear! So dear readers, for those of you who tread way too lightly in sketchbooks because of the fear of failure, your salvation has arrived: introducing three simple ways to fix sketchbook mistakes. And I have a feeling that once you know you can fix mistakes, you’ll start making them much less frequently! Okay, let’s get started……

Sketchbook Fix Idea #1: Draw a little something that you don’t love? Simply glue a piece of paper over it, as I’ve done above, and truthfully those pink flowers covering up the mistakes underneath make the page that much more interesting! Be sure to have a glue stick and some pretty paper, or any paper really on hand.
Sketchbook Fix Idea #2: Mess up an entire page? No worries! I apparently did here though I’ve forgotten how exactly because I simply glued an entire new piece of paper onto the page! Do use lightweight paper and sufficient glue, and you are good to go! Make a small mistake? Well just glue on a strip of paper as I’ve done on the right hand page, above. Now why haven’t I thought of this before?
Sketchbook Fix Idea #3: Like part of the page, or feel like you’ve spoiled something good by going too far? Paint to the rescue! Yes indeed, even though this sketchbook has paper that is quite thin, acrylic paint used straight out of the tube works really well, just don’t add water, or only a tiny bit. Truthfully recently I’ve been dabbing on white paint all over the place (even with my finger) to quickly correct little things I don’t like, or even somewhat big things. And in the case above, I decided to fill the page around he quotes with peach colored paint to get rid of some additions that weren’t working. The other day I overdid it on a page and simply added a light coat of paint to fade out what I’d drawn but not cover it completely, Once you start to use paint in your sketchbook things start to take on an art journal direction, which is also great, just remember most sketchbooks aren’t made for paint, (unless they are made with watercolor paper0 and if you do want to paint in them cover the pages with gesso first. Or cover the page with a coat of acrylic paint, and then you can paint over that.

I hope these quick fixes will be helpful to you on your sketchbook journey, and help you relax enough to forget about those perfectionist tendencies that generally were a hinderence in the first place! Here’s to making lots and lots of mistakes and always knowing how to fix them! And even if you don’t know how to fix those mistakes, well accepting them is what being human is all about!