Mindful Sketching by Peggy Dean

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

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

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 reignited my sketching practice and delved into urban sketching for the first time. I really enjoyed her representing and communicating energy in a sketch. I feel like it’s brought more awareness to how I use line in my own sketches.

She also includes several prompts to get you started. My favorite one so far was a comfort zone prompt.

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 boo

This book is so amazing. Beware, it's not a sit down and read. It's a a get out some paper and pen and draw along with the author! She is so great about getting the point across that it's ok for sketches not to be perfect. In fact, one of the pages shows the difference between "perfect" and "sketched". The sketched one has more character. I've taken a multitude of lessons on perspective before and hadn't "gotten" it. Peggy does a great job of explaining. She is a very talented teacher, and this book has been a godsend.

Really beautifully written and drawn... As the only non artist from a family full of artists (painters, sculptors, etc…) I had given up hope of ever being able to express myself artistically. Then I found Peggy Dean! Her books are fantastic but this one in particular really resonated with me because it appreciates the art of “imperfection”

I really enjoy how Peggy's books are written. I am what feels like a perpetual beginner, and I've picked up other art books and have felt completely overwhelmed. This is my second of Peggy's books, and I love how it feels like she believes everyone can and should express their creativity, but knows that some of us with less experience, or who are craving something that doesn't come naturally, need a little hand holding.

Additionally, Peggy is so vulnerable in this book, it just adds another layer to it. She's not perfect, I'm not perfect, and her art might be way more practiced than mine, but it's okay if mine is way less than perfect. And honestly, because of Peggy's books, I really have seen improvements in my art, and more importantly, in my confidence with my art.

I'm such a fan of Peggy's and was thrilled to hear about this book since she was my first exposure to urban sketching. I couldn't put it down, but I didn't want it to end.

It was a feel-good read (with just the right amount of pictures ;) -each so stunning) and absolutely helpful in teaching a better mindset for sketching.

If you've ever felt frustrated by your sketches not turning out as you'd like, this is for you. I loved the sketching practices throughout the book as well as the prompts toward the end. Its a beautiful addition to my library!