Back in the day, before we had cordless phones at home and all used a landline (yes, there was communication before the mobile!), phones would often live on a dedicated table of some sort. Not far away you would find pen and paper for jotting down those all important messages. This was the place, sat on either the special phone seat, stool or bottom step of the stairs, where many of us first discovered the joy of doodling.
These days, many will sing the praises of a good doodle. Some people use them as a tool to remember key points from a meeting or presentation, others do them to pass the time or even de-stress.
No matter if you doodle from habit, boredom or for pleasure, you will be pleased to know that a good doodle has been shown to help us retain information as well as improve focus and concentration. And nothing quite satisfies more than geometric shapes or a funky border on a notepad when you are filling some time.
We love a good doodle at SJB, so wanted to draw your attention to National Doodle Day. Set up as a charity fundraiser by Epilepsy Action, the day is your opportunity to own a unique piece of art by a famous celebrity. Each year, famous faces from the worlds of sport, art and entertainment create and donate their one-off doodles. These are then auctioned over 3 days on eBay. Some great doodles were created last year by a number of celebrities – who knew that Tom Hardy, Darcey Bussell and Alison Steadman (to name just a few), were so talented? You can join the mailing list to find out more here.
If you fancy trying your hand a doodling, there are loads of great website and YouTube tutorials out there. Here are a couple of our favourite artists to get you started:
- Doodles by Sarah – this YouTube channel is just doodle-tastic! Crammed with great videos, Sarah guides you through a wide range of doodle skills and also hand lettering, word art, kawaii and colouring tips.
- Johanna Basford – Johanna is well known for her colouring books for adults. However, in 2019 she released a book teaching you how to create your own inky creations in easy steps. In no time at all you will be creating the most fantastic doodles that you will love to colour in. From her website you can sign up for her inky emails where she shares links to some fab content, free downloads and tutorials. She also runs an Inky Art School course which is amazing.
So just don’t take our word for it. Have a go. Grab something to draw on and something to draw with – the back of an envelope and a tatty old biro are fine. Release your inner-artist and discover the joy of doodling. You can thank us later.
SJB
So Just Be 