Lola Stong-Brett is a Margate based artist whose paintings draw from memory, nostalgia, and her surroundings to form a contemplative, dynamic, and diaristic practice. Her work explores human contradictions, which initially surface as spontaneous ideas in her drawings. These take the form of glimmers of reimagined classic cartoon characters, her personal interests, and local environments, painted with her characteristic abstract ambiguity. Lola visited the Jackson\u2019s Studio to give us a glimpse inside the pages of her sketchbooks and talk to us about her practice. She discusses the wide variety of forms a sketchbook can take, how the humble pencil \u2013 her drawing tool of choice \u2013 encourages experimentation, and the importance of embracing chance.<\/p>\n
I use one main sketchbook at a time. It\u2019s usually a Moleksine<\/a>; I like the XL size<\/a> and the thinness of the paper because I like when things seep into the next page. <\/p>\n I also keep a watercolour sketchbook<\/a> at the studio, and often use other more random\/sporadic single sheets. These vary from newsprint<\/a> to Bristol board<\/a> to plain cartridge paper<\/a>. <\/p>\n They have more of a scrapbook feel to them, with bits of tape<\/a>, collage<\/a>, watercolour<\/a>, and ink<\/a> \u2013 they tend to pile up in my studio!<\/p>\n I always use a pencil in my sketchbook, never a pen, and never an eraser. I like the raw, \u2018old-school\u2019, accessible style of a pencil; simply crossing out mistakes rather than being too neat or careful. There\u2019s certain marks you can make with a pencil (I like 3B, 4B, 5B, and 6B) whereas a pen is too meticulous.<\/p>\n I like to leave a lot to chance, or fate, with both my sketchbooks and my paintings; this is why I think mistakes are important! And this is why I mostly just use one sketchbook at a time. I\u2019m quite adamant about the order things are in, as I like to believe drawings and writings are done at a particular time for a particular reason, whether consciously or not. <\/p>\n My sketchbook is actually mostly writing. Poems or lines almost like song lyrics scrawl across pages, as well as quotes from books I\u2019m reading. I often look back through the notes I\u2019ve made during the time I took to paint one of my paintings; these (at the time sporadic) sentences then form the titles for my paintings or the exhibitions. <\/p>\n I draw or make notes in my sketchbook pretty much every day. Although my sketchbook spends most of its time in the studio, becoming my holy grail, a precious object I\u2019m terrified to lose. The same as a book, I like it when the sketchbook starts to show wear and tear, with odd things slotted into the pages.<\/p>\n I also love other \u2018self-made\u2019 forms of sketchbooks. I did the Tracey Emin Artist Residency a couple of years ago, where we wrote one poem per week for 14 months, which we then compiled into a book. Mine was compiled from collected sheets of monoprints, with each poem written in capitals, backwards (so that the print read the right way). I then made a cardboard cover for the poem sheets to slot into. I loved it. This is something I want to do more. <\/p>\n Also, I remember going to an exhibition of Anselm Kiefer\u2019s in Oxford last year; he had some brilliant sketches collaged onto big sheets of cardboard. This is something I\u2019d also like to copy!<\/p>\n Sketches and writings from my sketchbook form the spark, the initial idea, that then makes me want to pick up the paintbrush. I don\u2019t sketch out paintings beforehand, but through continuous sketching, ideas, or more so emotions, start to bounce around and eventually come out onto the canvas. Almost like an explosion. I also like to tell myself that thoughts are \u2018brewing\u2019, like a cup of tea; you could think or feel something, draw it, and it isn\u2019t until months, or even years later, that it comes out in a painting. <\/p>\n Drawing is also a comfort; the thing you can reach to when you don\u2019t have anything else accessible. Again, that\u2019s why I like to just use a basic pencil.<\/p>\n I would say, when I was just starting to make art outside of uni, the most important thing to me was my sketchbook. When I was working in an art shop, or couldn\u2019t get to the studio, I kept a tiny sketchbook on me and made sure I did a drawing a day.<\/p>\n I also watched lots of YouTube videos, especially the BBC documentary series What Do Artists Do All Day?<\/em> I was so fascinated by their lives, and from memory, almost all the artists I admired were constantly sketching or drawing mostly at the kitchen table, even if they had large studios. I remember watching a documentary on Maggie Hambling; it was showing her going into her studio every morning around 6am to do an ink drawing, and the thought of it still inspires me. Although I need to pick up that routine and actually do it! <\/p>\n There\u2019s also a good VICE documentary series called Tattoo Age<\/em> on the artist Thom deVita; his house is absolutely covered in artworks and sketches. Being surrounded by the things that make you happy, the things you collect, the piles of notes or drawings, or the memories drawn from certain sketchbooks at certain times \u2013 it\u2019s all brilliant and just makes you want to make more!<\/p>\n I would say to make the most out of your sketchbook, the best thing to do is to simply bring it with you everywhere and draw\/take notes in it as much as possible. To not be too precious, use a pencil and to try and pick a sketchbook you don\u2019t mind messing up. <\/p>\n Moleskine Sketchbook<\/a><\/p>\n Staedtler<\/a> or Cont\u00e9 \u00e0 Paris<\/a> graphite pencils \u2013 in 3B, 4B, 5B and 6B<\/p>\n Sennelier Watercolour Paint<\/a><\/p>\n Random paper <\/a>bits!<\/p>\n Tape<\/a><\/p>\n Cranfield Lino Printing ink<\/a><\/p>\n Coloured Pencils <\/a><\/p>\n Lola Stong-Brett (b. 1996, London, United Kingdom; lives and works in Margate) most recently graduated the Tracey Emin Artist Residency (2024) following studies at the Edinburgh College of Art (2016-2019). Her first solo exhibition, For That, I\u2019ll Always Smile<\/em>, was presented at Carl Freedman Gallery, Margate in 2025. Lola\u2019s paintings have shown both locally and internationally, including Paris (Hussenot Gallery) and Mexico City (Naranjo141). Lola currently has a debut solo show, Sometime Somewhere Someone Is Dancing<\/em>, at James Fuentes Gallery in New York City, USA. For any enquiries please contact Carl Freedman Gallery. <\/p>\n Follow Lola on Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n View Lola\u2019s work on Carl Freedman\u2019s website<\/a><\/p>\n Inside the Sketchbook of Henry Ward<\/a><\/p>\n Inside the Sketchbook of Evie May Adams<\/a><\/p>\n The Dark History of the Pencil<\/a><\/p>\n Collage for Beginners \u2013 What You Need to Get Started<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Inside](\"https:\/\/www.jacksonsart.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Inside_The_Sketchbook_Lola_Strong-Brett_Blog_Image-25.jpg\")
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<\/a><\/p>\nAbout Lola Stong-Brett<\/h2>\n
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Further Reading<\/h2>\n<\/h2>\n