People are usually surprised when they see my sketchbooks. They expect every page to be filled with tattoo designs that are ready to go. The truth is, a lot of what’s inside will probably never end up on someone’s skin.
Some sketches are only half finished. Others are just rough ideas that came to me while I was having my morning coffee or walking through the park. There are pages filled with different versions of the same mountain range, tree branch, or animal silhouette. Some drawings don’t make much sense to anyone but me.
And that’s exactly why I keep them.
Not Every Idea Needs a Purpose
When I first started tattooing, I felt like every drawing had to lead somewhere. If I spent time sketching something, I wanted it to become a tattoo. Over time, I realized that kind of thinking actually limited my creativity.
Now I draw simply because I enjoy it.
There’s something freeing about creating without worrying whether anyone will ever see it. Some days I’ll spend an hour working on a design just to understand how certain lines work together. Other times I’ll sketch the same landscape from memory over and over until it finally feels right.
Those drawings still serve a purpose, even if they never leave the sketchbook.
Practice Doesn’t End Once You’re Working
People sometimes assume that once you become a professional artist, you stop practicing. In reality, practice never ends.
Every tattoo teaches me something, but so does every sketch.
A simple drawing might help me discover a better way to create movement in a design. It might inspire a new approach to negative space or help me simplify something that felt too complicated before.
The more I draw, the more confident I become when a client sits down in my chair with an idea they want to bring to life.
My Best Ideas Usually Start Small
Some of my favorite tattoo concepts didn’t begin as finished designs.
They started as a quick sketch in the corner of a page.
Maybe it was the outline of a mountain or the shape of a pine tree that caught my attention. Sometimes it’s just a combination of lines that feels balanced. I don’t force those ideas into something complete right away. I let them sit.
Weeks or even months later, I’ll flip through an old sketchbook and suddenly see something I missed before. An unfinished drawing becomes the starting point for a custom piece that fits a client perfectly.
That’s one of the reasons I never throw old sketchbooks away.
Inspiration Changes Over Time
Growing up in Alaska, I spent a lot of time outside. Mountains, forests, rivers, and wildlife naturally found their way into my drawings.
Even though I live in Chicago now, those early influences haven’t disappeared. They’ve simply changed.
The sketches I make today aren’t exact copies of places I remember. They’re shaped by memory, experience, and everything I’ve learned since moving here. Sometimes a walk along Lake Michigan or through one of Chicago’s parks will spark an idea that blends with memories from years ago.
That’s one of the things I enjoy most about being an artist. Inspiration isn’t fixed. It grows with you.
Some Drawings Are Just for Me
Tattooing is personal work. Every design I create for a client tells part of their story.
Because of that, I think it’s important to have artwork that doesn’t belong to anyone else.
My sketchbooks give me that space.
They’re where I experiment without expectations. If a drawing doesn’t work, that’s fine. If it turns out better than I expected, that’s great too. There’s no pressure to make it perfect.
Those pages remind me why I started creating in the first place.
The Sketchbook Is Always Open
I carry a sketchbook because ideas don’t arrive on a schedule.
Sometimes inspiration shows up while I’m waiting for coffee. Sometimes it’s during a quiet walk in the morning. Other times it happens after finishing a tattoo when I notice a new way to approach a design.
I’ve learned not to trust my memory with those moments.
Writing down an idea or making a quick sketch only takes a few minutes, but it might become something much bigger later.
Creativity Is About Staying Curious
One thing I’ve learned over the years is that creativity isn’t something you find once and keep forever. It needs attention.
For me, staying curious is part of the job.
That means trying new ideas, making mistakes, and allowing myself to create things that may never be shared with anyone else. It means being willing to start over when something doesn’t feel right instead of settling for “good enough.”
The sketchbook is where all of that happens.
Every Page Leads Somewhere
Most people will never see the drawings that stay in my sketchbooks, and I’m okay with that.
Those pages aren’t meant to impress anyone. They’re where I solve problems, test ideas, and remind myself that creating doesn’t always need a destination.
Ironically, the designs that never become tattoos often help shape the ones that do.
Every unfinished sketch teaches me something. Every rough idea helps me grow. Even the pages that feel like failures have value because they push me toward better work.
That’s why I’ll always keep another blank sketchbook nearby.
You never know which small drawing will eventually become someone’s favorite piece of art.