Staying grounded through sketchbooks on the go
In our current, fast-paced world, it can be difficult to be mindful of our surroundings, as there are so many distractions around us. However, to stay grounded, Sonia Brittain embodies a lifestyle that involves having a sketchbook on the go with her at all times.
Sonia Brittain is a half Chinese, half English artist from Essex, England. Also formerly living in Basel, Switzerland, Sonia now lives in California, USA with her family, including three boys. Her sketches, drawings, and paintings consist of people, places, and things like outdoors and nature, all of which are influenced by her thoughts, surroundings, upbringing, and everyday life in general.
Even more recently, she has started writing blog posts about her thoughts on art and life altogether on a newsletter platform called Substack; to her, it has been another way of staying focused on what’s most important: the present moment.
Sketching the outdoors on the go (via @soniabrittainart Instagram page)
I got to ask Sonia about her development as an artist, constructive habit building, what keeps her creative drive going, and more.
In one of your blog posts, you wrote that you have recently been seeking more depth by reading more books and informative articles rather than doing things like thoughtlessly scrolling through social media posts. In what ways have you noticed that your art has been positively influenced by disconnecting from the internet and incorporating more constructive, thought-provoking activities into your daily life?
Disconnecting episodically from social media and the internet has been of benefit to me artistically, more so at times when there is something going on in my personal life or there is a lot of bad news and too much noise online. It is easy to use the internet as a distraction, and we all know our phones can stop us from concentrating on our own work. I am still guilty of using my phone to procrastinate… taking proper breaks from Instagram has been helpful in getting me out of a mindless scrolling habit, as has turning off nearly all notifications.
When you step away from your phone it is like you are truly alone for a while. I do enjoy looking and reading art books - I get to direct my learning and attention, rather than an algorithm determining what I see. Personally, I find it to be a quieter and more considered way of seeking inspiration.
However, I do also find benefit at times from checking out social media and the internet for artists and art news. The work of a lot of artists is only available to view online and we are lucky to be able to share our work so easily. As with a lot of things, I guess it’s about balance. Taking breaks, having limits on how long I go on social media means I feel more in control of how I’m using all these different sources for information and connection. Finding what works for you is key - for some, it may mean total abstinence and quiet studio time, while others may need the motivation of seeing people like themselves creating to get inspired and make their own art. I need a bit of both.
Additionally, you feel that online inspiration is tricky for you because you don’t want to spend too much time online going down rabbit holes, so to speak, because you want to focus on developing your work. Given that, how do you find the balance to create your own art and simultaneously consume other people’s art?
On reflection when I have taken prolonged breaks from the internet and just tried to create my own work in a bit of a vacuum, so to speak, I don't feel like it has actually resulted in better work. In fact, I procrastinated more and made less work. I do get motivated by looking at images of art and reading about creativity. I have always been more of a visual learner, so personally what works well for me is to use little snippets of time here and there to have a look at sites online for visual inspiration. Just seeing some art can excite me and help get me started.
More recently, I started grabbing an art book or photo off my phone and just warming up by doing a quick copy or drawing from it in my own style. I love reading, so often that I end up going to bed early with the youngest and reading alongside him - I like to have both a non-fiction and a fiction book on the go, and reading is a great source of inspiration.
While cooking and doing housework, I will listen to podcasts or have YouTube art documentaries in the background. Obtaining inspiration in this way allows me to be more focused on making art when I have the time, as I have been absorbing ideas throughout the day, so I'm keen to get going - often the hardest thing is having too many things I want to draw and paint, so I can end up leaping from one subject to another, from drawing on a desk to the floor. The big thing is to limit myself to short research periods online, as it is too easy to get distracted and go on a bit of a doom scroll (scrolling mindlessly) or fill in time in which could actually be doing my own work.
You have shared the sentiment that 5, 10, or 20 minutes of art per day can add up quickly and bring joy to your life. What are some ways you feel that consistency and establishing good habits has played a role in your development as an artist?
My personal experience has been that doing the drawing-a-day challenge for a year (back in 2015) was really important in helping me develop an art habit that I have essentially kept up to this day. There is a plethora of information on how to get into good habits and the importance of consistency. I would say if you can't commit to a year, 30 days is just as good. If you do want to get into daily sketching, then my other tip is to make it easy and appealing- allow yourself on super busy days just to do a 5 min doodle.
Some people may like to have constraints, say painting a bird every day or sticking to one medium. Personally, I found that initially keeping to a subject for a week and to small gouache paintings worked for me, but now I am at the stage where I like to have freedom in what and how I draw and paint. The challenge now is to stop drawing and get on with other jobs I should be doing!
Depicting Mother Nature (via @soniabrittainart Instagram page)
When I look back at my very early sketchbooks, I can see how beneficial establishing a good art practice has been. Using small blocks of time here and there has helped me speed up, and I can see that I have become braver and more assured in my lines. It is also exciting because once you start drawing daily, you realize how many ways there are to further develop and experiment. For example, recently, I have become more interested in loosening up and how 'bad drawings' can sometimes be more visually interesting than realistic art. I also think that making time for art every day meant I had to stop other habits that weren't as rewarding to me. More specifically, I now episodically watch TV and limit the amount of news I read about.
Ever since childhood, you have been fascinated by artists that draw and paint the human figure and you recognize it is a type of art in which practice pays off. What aspects of drawing people do you enjoy and find to be a creative challenge that have helped you enhance your artistry?
It is true from early childhood I have been drawn to depicting people in my art. I remember I used to love designing clothes and drawing fashion figures when I was young alongside my grandmother who regularly babysat me. Her father had been a fashion designer, and there was a history of draughtsmen on this side of the family.
Sketches of Sonia’s youngest (top), middle child (bottom), and a self portrait (center) (via @soniabrittainart Instagram page)
At school, I became interested in the work of Sargent, Lautrec, and Degas, and I tried to emulate their way of drawing people. I was lucky that at secondary school we had the option to stay behind and pay a small fee for extra life drawing classes. I loved those sessions - when a drawing went well, it was gratifying because life drawing does require a lot of concentration and focus. I think with sustained practice progress will be made, plus there are so many good books, and online tutorials if you are just starting out.
I enjoy the fact that you get to study a person and choose how you depict them. Which parts do you focus on? do you use long flowing lines or block shading? It's funny because there is often so much worry and importance put on appearance, but what I appreciated about life drawing, and also in studying medicine, is the reminder that under our clothes we essentially share all the same components; limbs, faces, organs etc. but at the same time, we are all so different. I have to say that at certain times, I struggle to draw people, like at the start of the pandemic when everyone was isolating; it felt weird to draw people when I wasn't seeing anyone in real life. However, whenever I feel like my drawing skills are getting a little rusty, then drawing people is a good way of keeping my skills up.
As someone who considers themselves to be an introvert more than an extrovert and feeling that you gain a lot from time spent by yourself, how do you feel that alone time has helped you stay grounded in your creative process in your sketchbooks, artwork, and life altogether?
With regards to being more of an introvert, I feel that I am so much more prolific and freer when making art by myself. My brother is nine years younger than me, so I spent a lot of my childhood by myself, amusing myself by drawing and reading. Maybe it was my nature, but either way, I never get bored by myself and didn’t mind periods of solitude.
I am not a total introvert, because to be fair, I spend a lot of time with family, and I do enjoy socializing too; it is more that I feel more inhibited drawing in front of other people. If I'm with other people, I want to properly listen to them and give them my attention, and when I'm alone, I get to properly switch off/ concentrate on my art. I feel like I can be myself more - experimenting and focusing solely on a drawing or painting, I get that sense of flow and it is magical. It is hard to explain... I do know that creative alone time has, I think, helped me be a better person, and mother. I don't need lots, but like a lot of people, if I'm constantly surrounded and have no space, I am grumpier and more reactive.
On the subject of inspiration, you have stated that you ultimately don’t need to be inspired to make art and you can just start without a plan and go with the flow. How do you feel that this mentality has helped you grow as an artist?
There are a fair number of creatives who have shared that point of view; that inspiration is not a requirement to make art, and sometimes you just need to do the work. I too have found benefit from at times just starting. If don't 'feel' like making art, I don't, in general, let that stop me from making art. It can be hard ignoring negative voices in my head, but if I just open the sketchbook and do something to warm up, it gets the ball rolling. Once I've started, I may then get inspired to maybe continue with the sketch or to switch it up.
Also, having music or a creative podcast in the background helps get me into a creative zone. Having little kids also taught me to just get on with making art when I had the chance because I knew my time window was limited by their naps and such.
How has the hobby of writing help you function in the present and feel freer in the sense of creating artwork?
Writing is helpful because it is a method which helps me properly reflect on what is going on for me in the present, and I also think about the past and future in a way where I can't bury or avoid feelings. Free journaling when I'm overwhelmed helps me unload; otherwise, I would ruminate in my head - it helps when I'm feeling stuck or just plain pissed off, but I know it would not be helpful to take it out on someone. I think it helps me look at things from a different perspective, including my art.
Some of Sonia’s abstract art (via Sonia Brittain’s Substack)
Often, I'm so desperate to make art I can feel like I'm a bit of a mess, jumping around from drawing to painting, from sketchbook to sketchbook. Writing, especially in my studio notebook and on my Substack blog, helps me think a little more about what am I doing art wise, like why am I called to make abstract art at that moment? When I am making art sometimes, I am trying to get away from feelings and experiences - it may be a form of escape and writing afterwards helps me uncover what might be going on.
Other times when I am drawing, I am thinking about certain things but expressing my ideas visually, and then writing is another way of explaining things later on. I feel that expressing myself in words has helped free me up to be more experimental, actually voicing that my tastes change, that I'm drawn to naive /outsider art at the moment helps me see where I am going. For example, currently, I don't want perfect drawings; I feel like wonky, odd, haphazard drawings and paintings weirdly reflect our current world more, and that there is a beauty in what some would consider 'childish' or 'ugly' art. However, I know that later on, I may want to change direction again and writing could help me uncover why.
With previously being an NHS psychiatrist, do you think that your work experience in that profession has informed your art style? If so, how?
So I was an NHS psychiatrist over 15 years ago now - before I had my first child. Studying medicine, being a junior doctor and then being a psychiatrist in London was an intense period of my life.
In some ways, I think that maybe part of why I chose to specialize in psychiatry was because of how it seemed more of a creative specialty; you were entrusted with people's often traumatic stories, and there was definitely a lot of gray areas in psychiatry - it perhaps wasn't as clear cut as some other specialties, which is in some ways similar to art. Maybe it was just the time or where I was, but a lot of other psychiatrists seemed more interested in the arts (film, theater etc.) too.
I didn't do my own art then. I was focused on working and my post-graduate studies, but I visited a lot of art galleries and was aware of the intersection between art and mental health. You can read about a lot of famous artists and how their mental health impacted their work, like Van Gogh and Rothko. I became aware of the importance of art therapy as a treatment modality. I did at times feel a little depressed about funding and the fact that sometimes there didn't seem to be answers to people's difficulties. By the time I left, I had definitely burnt out, but I think my experiences do impact me today. I don't take for granted how important mental health is and how taking the time for our own creative pursuits (whatever that looks like for an individual) can be of benefit.
Maybe my former profession has made me more aware of the psychological aspects of my work. Sometimes in my art, I am looking for an answer to how I'm feeling; it is very personal. For example, when I feel life is out of control and everything is in disorder, I will often want to make repetitive marks and patterns, and I'm drawn to painting still lives. I assume I am trying to establish a sense of order through painting. I want beauty, a domestic scene that won't change and be messed up. I'm seeking something I have control over that is pleasing to my eye, but at the same time, if I paint flowers, they can speak of the fragility of life, our impermanence.
I guess I put my conscious and unconscious psychological meanings onto a painting, though sometimes there is a simple pleasure in producing a purely decorative work; you might want to view psychologically challenging and dark work in an art gallery, but maybe for your home, you want a painting that is going to lift your spirits to make your environment more soothing or even energizing.
A collection of paintings of flowers and pottery (via @soniabrittainart Instagram page)
Sonia concluded by writing “We all have our own stories. Art allows for an outlet to tell these stories and maybe even deal with them. At the same time, it allows for the freedom to escape your reality, fantasize, have an alter ego, or become subsumed in the concentration required to paint hyper realistic art and decorative art.”
Indeed, we all have our own stories, and Sonia is telling hers in a powerful way through artworks of all kinds, finding beauty in daily life.
To keep updated with her journey, you can find her on Instagram and Substack.