Gloria B. Collins

A Beautifier of Life through Slow Home Living

  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Sketchbook
    • Why I Sketch
  • Journal
  • Contact
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Privacy Policy

Nine Reasons Why Sketching is Good for Your Brain

July 30, 2019 By Gloria B. Collins Leave a Comment

Sketching is an easy brain-boosting exercise that anyone can do.  

Did you know that sketching is good for your brain? You don’t have to take classes, you don’t need any special tools, you don’t even need lots of time! All you need to have is a pencil, paper and a desire to sketch on a regular basis.

The website ‘The Healing Power of Art & Artists’ shares in an article by Renee Phillips that “It has an impact on brain wave patterns and emotions, the nervous system, and can actually raise serotonin levels. Art can change a person’s outlook and the way they experience the world.”

Nine Reasons Why Sketching is Good for Your Brain | Gloria B. Collins

The benefits that link the act of sketching to our improved mental health are undeniable. The benefits range from improved memory and reduced stress to improved concentration and strengthening our resilience.

Our mental state noticeably improves every time we quiet our minds enough to sketch. Our brain slows down into a naturally meditative state when we allow ourselves time to quietly observe, contemplate, and create.

When we make time to sketch and open our minds to the endless possibilities of inspiration we enable ourselves a moment of respite and eventually reach a state of flow.

Kendra Cherry shares in her article for Very Well Mind that “According to the psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, “Flow” is defined as a state of complete immersion in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away, and time flies. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.”

Nine Reasons Why Sketching is Good for Your Brain

I know first hand that sketching helps us to improve our minds and our moods one drawing at a time. The act of sketching keeps our minds busy in a positive way.

1. Sketching helps the mind to concentrate on a single task for an extended period.

Drawing improves memory skills. Engaging oneself in sketching can boost recalling capacity as it sharpens the mind by imagination and thinking.

2. Making time for a sketch each day keeps anxieties from creeping up and overwhelming us in our busy lives.

You may enjoy reading my post Reducing Stress with Art: How to release stress one drawing at a time.

3. Sketching daily encourages our minds to learn something new.

Human nature is to be evolving not to stay still. Our brain seeks activity to keep it distracted. However, if not careful, the mind may easily pick a habit which is frivolous and or harmful, leading us into addiction and anxiety.

4. Sketching improves overall holistic health and a sense of accomplishment because it builds self-esteem and self-confidence as you become better and better.

Regular sketching creates a sense of achievement and pride.

Nine Reasons Why Sketching is Good for Your Brain | Gloria B. Collins

5. Urban sketching (sketching in public) is the best way to discover new subject matter to draw.

Most people at first are scared of opening up their sketchbook in general, but the more your confidence develops, the more it feels perfectly comfortable sketching in public.

Nine Reasons Why Sketching is Good for Your Brain | Gloria B. Collins

If you’re just starting out as an artist, you may appreciate my post Sketching 101: 5 easy sketching tips to improve your skills.

6. Sketching allows us to be more social and have the confidence to talk with people.

If you become an avid urban sketcher you’ll discover that it is an excellent way to interact with strangers and for people to engage with you by asking questions about the sketch your doing. You may just make a few new friends along that way!

7. Sketching for the sake of problem-solving is an easy and effective method to begin looking deep into the angles, shapes, and proportions of the items to be drawn.

Nine Reasons Why Sketching is Good for Your Brain | Gloria B. Collins

8. Sketching your ideas, rather than using words, is a great way to organize and comprehend large amounts of data that our brain may not be able to process all at once.

9. Sketching allows us to unplug from our digital devices and more deeply connect to our surroundings.

In today’s world, it is so easy to become distracted and these devices are designed to stimulate our brains and keep us hooked by temporarily releasing dopamine, which is a feel-good hormone.

It is easy for us to get sucked into spending too much time on our digital devices and lose touch with our surroundings. Unfortunately, too much screen time robs us of our focus which could be used to feed our dreams and grow our brains.

View this post on Instagram

Good morning my friends. It’s been a few days since I was able to sit with my cuppa #coffee and #sketch as morning breaks. For the next few weeks I hope to catch up my discipline to do it every day. Yesterday I signed up for a #watercolor class at The Art Student League in NYC I’d been looking at my collection of journals and pleasantly surprised with my improvements from when I first began not so long ago, that said, why not take a formal class and see how I do? I believe it is my duty to continually be pushing myself to grow and make beauty! I hope you are taking moments from your busy lives to create pockets of time to develop any itch within yourself to be creative. #sketchbookskool2018 see you in #pasadena #watercolor #escodabrushes #windsorandnewton #artforartsake

A post shared by Gloria Battista Collins (@gloriabcollins) on Sep 5, 2018 at 6:16am PDT

I encourage you to regularly make time to sketch.

When you sketch every day, you will improve your brain health by building new connections and pathways. In other words, sketching is good for your brain because both sides of the brain actively participate. For example,  the left side of your brain, which is responsible for logical thinking and the right side of your brain which supplies your creativity work together.

My mobile drawing kit is compact and travels easily in my handbag. These notebooks from the Rifle Paper Co. are flexible, a reasonable size and the paper holds watercolor well enough. 

Are you still on the fence about sketching? Fix yourself a cup of coffee or tea and read why I think you should sketch every day.

Sign up for my monthly email newsletter where I share a behind the scenes look at how I’m working things out in life and in my garden. You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.

Filed Under: Alone Time, Hobbies, Sketchbook, Water Colors

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

My Social Networks

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Join my Flowers. Art. Life. group on

Email Newsletter Signup

  • My newsletter is a genuine glimpse behind the scenes on how I'm working things out in life.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Connect with me!

gloriabcollins

100% Seasonal #FlowerDesigner & Gardener in NY Committed to & creating passion for locally grown flowers & NOW sketching my days.

Instagram post 2193196374042872785_229546974 It is with great joy that I share with you the news that I’ve been featured as a floral /illustrator in the current edition of the online @seasonal_living_trd 
This Magazine is in total alignment with my values for a more sustainable approach toward #mindfulliving 
It’s a consumer focused international #luxurylifestyle digital publication that comes out quarterly. 
It covers #travel #food #wellness #entertaining and #design 
It’s mission is to inspire people around the world to live a life in harmony with the seasons. 
If you love all things design then you’ll love it.  I talk about it in detail in my newsletter which comes out the first Saturday of each month. Sign up for it in the link from my Bio. ☝️beforehand 
#illustrationart #corporatewellness #joytracker #selfcare #flowerillustration #floralsketches #architecturedesign #designeveryday #seasonalliving #landscapearchitecture #hospitalitydesign #magazine #winter #winterwonderland
Instagram post 2190775835860985782_229546974 Good morning ~ here is a quick look at this month’s tracker to help you become mindful each time you experience #joy in your day to day life. 
Download it directly from my newsletter  which I send out every first Saturday of each month. 
Fill in a petal each time you become aware of a happy thought, a random act of kindness, you get it. And before long you will have gifted yourself a beautiful bouquet of flowers. #joy #thingsilovetodo #flowerbomb #illustratorsoninstagram
Instagram post 2190097067827843676_229546974 Snow day here in New York. And the lighting is tricky for photos. But thought I’d share the inside mess. Perfect day, to put the finishing touches on this month’s newsletter. This month in it I open up and confess about my battle with money. 😏 Also, my new trackers to keep us building good habits for self care will be downloadable as well in it.  Sign up before this Saturday as it comes out ever first Saturday of the month. Hope you have a beautiful day!
Instagram post 2187169923179008252_229546974 It’s a sunny and windy day in New York. Needed to pop in here and wish you all a beautiful day with loved ones! ❤️
Instagram post 2178533806464621813_229546974 One of my favorite seasonal flowers during the winter months which brings great joy to our home, is the Amaryllis. 
Honestly, if you see them in the store pick one up. You will love watching it grow day by day as it bring beauty into any room. 
#hyggelife #amaryllis #photooftheday #thingsthatbringmejoy #winterflowers #gardening #indoorplantsdecor
Instagram post 2172841548650247603_229546974 Doing the things that bring me #joy playing with #amaryllis #gouachepainting and #watercolor today. Great way to relax and disconnect for the afternoon. Hope you’ll do something this weekend that really brings you happiness.
Instagram post 2166994601330712783_229546974 I’ve been drawing these flower bouquets for people to download as a personal daily self-love ~ JOY tracker and sharing them in my newsletter which comes out the first Saturday of each month. 
This practice has been helpful because I look forward to being kind to myself even if just to get the recognition a filled in petal symbolizes. 
Now, I consciously seek out acts of kindness towards myself. Each time I experience a joyful moment, I fill in a petal with pen, pencil, marker, whatever is handy and watch the flower bouquet come to life. 
It is also helpful because it forces me to identify throughout the day even the smallest of gestures I can do to bring joy into my life. 
I hope you too can be kind to yourself even in the smallest of way. 
Happy Halloween 🎃 #joyfulmovement #thingsthatbringmejoy #sketching #dailysketch #bouquetofflowers #b
Instagram post 2164917364137692267_229546974 Finally, today back in the garden. Just bringing in the topiary collection, but first I quick little hair cut. I’ve been working also on the newsletter for this Saturday.  Sign up before then in my bio up top. 
Where I’ll share more pics of yesterday’s wedding, new book I’m reading.  Chores in the garden and other bits on life. 
Also, note the flowers in this arrangement, well the @endlesssummerhydrangeas are such a beautiful autumn color now. Perfect to cut and bring indoors for a lovely focal point in the home. @mightynetworks began using your network to connect with friends and it’s been such a pleasure. No adds, no political negativity. Love it. Anyone interested in connecting with me feel free to join me there. ❤️ #photooftheday #thingsthatbringmejoy #chrysanthemum #cafeaulaitdahlia #gardenroses #topiary
Load More... Follow on Instagram


Copyright© 2019 • Homepage photos by Randazzo & Blau Photography

WordPress Theme Customization & Hosting by Experience Farm

  • Email Newsletter Signup

    My email newsletter is a genuine glimpse behind the scenes on how I'm working things out in life.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.