Almost ten years ago I connected briefly with a scholarly group of artists interested in the ways in which cognition and drawing intersect. It’s a fascinating topic and the little research I’ve read affirms some of what I’ve suspected from being a drawing artist and from teaching drawing: drawing helps us remember things better, it stimulates our brains in unique and helpful ways, and it helps us process anxiety and trauma. I would add to those my own observations: drawing is (or can be) fun and it creates a unique cultural space in which our shared struggles, common purpose, or co-exploration of new materials strengthens social bonds.
I have these benefits and outcomes in mind as I prepare for another month of daily drawing for Sketchuary. I use Drawtober as a time to explore materials towards a somewhat polished and cohesive outcomes. In hair-splitting contrast to that, Sketchuary is a month in which the work I make is less cohesive and less finished. It’s still all going on my personal Instagram page and that public dissemination, however limited, probably makes me less authentically experimental and loose with ideas. I do not want to share the “bad” ideas, only the ones that “look good.” Again, that filter is not helpful to innovation or more robust ideation. And yet, and yet.
Below is the list of prompts I’ll be drawing from this February. As always, I encourage others to draw/collage/write along.
Sketchuary Prompts 2026
- drift
- overhand
- routine
- data driven
- curse
- spore
- dynasty
- grift
- negotiate
- limit
- fragile
- snooze
- trusted
- insipid
- ephemeral
- sweetheart
- buzz
- carrier
- formation
- swat
- trickster
- reap
- comment
- stripe
- rail
- bought
- ripe
- neighbor
