For our First Sketchbook Peek of 2010 we interviewed Stephanie Levy, an amazing artist hailing from Munich via USA. Her artwork is fantastic and I’m a real admirer. You can ckeck out her website here http://www.stephanielevy.com/ where you can link to her blog and shop.

This is what she had to say….

I’m an American artist and illustrator, who now lives in Munich, Germany with my husband and 2 little girls. I always loved to draw and paint and make creative things at home, and now it’s fun to see my children making artwork too. I studied Art at the University of Tennessee before moving to Germany 13 years ago.

I love living in Europe! I enjoy the culture, the huge variety of languages, foods, and customs, and being able to jump in the car and go to France or Italy or Switzerland within a few hours drive. My love of travel inspires my collages, and several pieces of my artwork are even titled after places I’ve been or countries/cities I’d like to visit one day.

I also like to cook and try new kinds of food, and I suppose my ideal vacation would be to travel around Europe (and the rest of the world), looking, eating, sketching, painting – with an unlimited bank account of course ;)

I’ve always had a sketchbook, and some of my art professors during my art studies even required that we keep one. I find a sketchbook helpful to jot down ideas or images I might be able to use at a future time, and also to try out new materials.

How often do you use your sketchbook?

It depends on what I am working on. If I’m feeling stuck on a particular piece or series, or I need to brainstorm new ideas, it’s great to take a break and warm up in my sketchbook to get into the flow again.

Do you have a favuorite sketchbook?

I use different types of sketchbooks for different reasons – ring-bound notebooks are fine for jotting down notes and quick ideas, and I like to use more aesthetic sketchbooks with handmade paper for instance, when I am working with paints and collage.

How do you feel about starting a new sketchbook with all the lovely blank pages?

Sometimes it’s scary, and especially when the sketchbook itself is very beautiful, it takes me a long time to get started using it! When the book and papers are pretty, it can be difficult getting past the “not wanting to mess things up” stage.

When and where do you get your sketchbook inspiration?

I start by making the ink drawings, often using photographs as a resource. Sometimes I make the drawings on other papers first, and then I glue these down with an assortment of materials as I am working. Inspiration may come at any time – for instance when I’m looking through a book or magazine, or even from the Ikea catalog.

How would you describe your sketchbook process?

I try to have fun with the sketchbooks and not worry about whether or not things are too perfect. I want to experiment, be a loose as possible, and not think about the end result too much. I keep the process as playful as possible.

What is your favourite medium to work with?

I love collecting and using various exotic papers and non-traditional “fine art” media. I like adding string, stars, and “kitschy” things to my collages to give them an off-beat, glitzy touch. Acrylic and water-based paints are my favorite ways to add color.

Where is your ideal sketching location?

At home in my studio where all of my materials are close at hand, and I can make a big mess!!

How have your sketchbooks evolved over the years?

I think they have become freer, and reflect my own personal style. The sketchbooks I had in art school were much more traditional and formal, and all based on real-life observation. But I’m much happier with the mixed media approach I have now!

Today my favorite mixed media drawing is most likely of the Japanese bowl with red chopsticks. I added Japanese “luck-bringing” stamps that I bought years ago in Tokyo to this page, and the stamps bring back warm memories of that trip.

Thanks for taking part in our series of sketchbooks and for showing us your work Stephanie

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 at 8:10 pm and is filed under Sketchbook Peeks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.