Here is a new grid journaling page I’ve done recently.

Before I left to go on location, I measured out a grid of 12 boxes in my journal, to fill in on site. I painted in a mid-tone ground in each box, which sped up the time required to be sketching in the field, but is more prep time, so is completely optional.

I chose a minimum of materials to make the process simple, streamlined, and easy to hold. As you can see below, I took a chunky graphite stick and a few of crayons in a range of values. That’s it. A limited palette will really make your page come together, and it will be more fun to be less burdened by stuff. I was able to hold it all in one hand.

Once I got out into the landscape, I picked a spot, and then painted what I saw from that one spot, pivoting 30º for each frame. I started filling in my page on the top left and worked across, following with the two other rows in succession. This process quickly captured what it is like to be in this exact spot. It also can be useful for identifying which compositions you like, which you may want to use for a complete painting some other time.

I found this process very satisfying, and will do more of it, prepping some pages in advance, so I can just grab my journal and go, as the sketching opportunity arises.

Give this a try!