spencer harrison
I’m a visual artist primarily working in painting, but branching into sculpture, murals and other mediums. My work is
mainly abstract in nature, inspired by the ideas of early 20th-century modernists and Eastern philosophy. I use a basic,
cheap, blank composition book as a sketchbook, with a custom leather cover I made to give it a bit of protection when
I chuck it in my bag. It’s like a giant repository for my brain, where I capture ideas, research, sketches and general
musings on life. I’m not too precious about what I put into it, or concerned with it being neat and curated. Instead, my
style is very loose and haphazard, and I try not to overthink it too much. It’s a mixture of random doodles; sketches for
paintings; notes from books and quotes all jammed on the pages. I like to set challenges for myself sometimes to do
a large number of sketches, so I’ll cover a page with boxes and try to fill each one with a painting composition. Many
of the ideas make it into the real world, but they go through a process of refinement and exploration before becoming
tactile. I read a lot of books on art and philosophy, so lately I’ve copied out a lot of notes or passages to help me
remember. I also like to do sketches of favourite artworks when I’m in galleries, as it helps me break down what the
artist was doing and really absorb the piece of work. Generally, doodling in my sketchbook is a private exercise, but
I might show it to people I feel close to or other creatives. The general rule is: if I’d feel comfortable being naked around
you, I’d feel comfortable with you looking through it! About once a year, if I’m in a reflective mood, I’ll sit down with a
coffee and look through my whole collection of sketchbooks. It’s interesting to witness how my ideas and thoughts have
changed over time, and to connect the dots through the past. It can lead to a few cringeworthy moments, though!
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creative folk