Ep 29 - Doing What's Fun with Koosje Koene
In this episode, I speak with Amsterdam-based artist and educator Koosje Koene about how she used the restrictions of COVID lockdown to "discover an extended version of the artist" in her, with a simple philosophy of doing what’s fun.
How much can be achieved by doing what’s fun? Can it spark new ideas? Can it help us accomplish big, important goals too? Koosje used this period to write a book and discover a new creative outlet in abstract art, and we talk about both of these interesting projects. Koosje has been an educator and art-entrepreneur for a decade, and we speak about that with relation to her journey at Sketchbook Skool and her successful YouTube channel. We talk about the unique task of being an independent creative - the burdens and responsibilities of such a job title, and also the unique opportunities it offers in today's landscape.
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This episode comes with a bonus section exclusively for SneakyArt Insiders. Insiders receive bonus material from various podcast episodes, such as Ep 15 with George Butler and Ep 28 with Tomas Pajdlhauser.
I share my best ideas from the episode in The SneakyArt Post - my free email newsletter. Find links to Koosje's work here.
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Transcript
Hello and welcome to the SneakyArt Podcast, I'm your host Nishant Jain. Today I'm speaking with Amsterdam-based artist and educator Koosje Koene about the many ways she has practiced her creativity, her work at Sketchbook Skool and her Youtube channel, and how she has used her COVID lockdown as a time for artistic metamorphosis.
After exiting her position at Sketchbook Skool in early 2020, Koosje found her travel plans dashed by the onset of COVID. But even within the constraints of lockdown, she turned things around with a single, simple rule - "doing only what is fun." This is the title of the episode as well, because in a way it is the theme of our conversation. Doing what is fun might sound like a way to evade important obligations, but it can also be the best way to approach difficult problems, to overcome obstacles, and to regard our same old things with a fresh perspective.
We talk about the many wonderful ideas that have come to her from following this rule through lockdown, how it has led to writing a book, making her own art studio, and a new journey into abstract art.
Just like my previous episode, this episode also comes with a post-script bonus section which is exclusive to SneakyArt Insiders. Insiders are the people who support this podcast every month. As an independent creative, I rely on listener support and feedback to keep doing this job and to keep doing it better with every conversation. The SneakyArt Insiders Club allows me to do just that. I'll talk a little more about the ways you can support my work in the break at the halfway mark. Meanwhile, if you're curious, refer to the shownotes to catch the relevant links.
We begin this conversation with that moment of big change that crashed into all of our lives in March 2020. How did Koosje reorient herself to the new reality of COVID, and how did she find a silver lining for her life and art practice within the social restrictions? This conversation was a lot of fun for me, so I hope you will enjoy it as well.
03:20 Starts with asking about how the COVID lockdown transformed Koosje's art practice.
"It was actually really good not to be traveling, because it got me back to myself and to the basic questions - what do I want from my life, how do I want my life to be. Traveling is fantastic but it's also distracting from all these big questions. It really helped me to be in a really small space. That's how I discovered where I want to go with my art."
Koosje talks about how physical confinement helped her break down mental barriers around her art-making and discover an abstract artist within herself.
09:22 Nishant refers to Koosje's blog quote - "I discovered an extended version of the artist in me." - for the various things it suggests. As artists, we tend to box ourselves into our own hashtags, and only unexpected situations give us the chance to break out of that.
How did Koosje discover something new about herself through the simple rule of "doing only what is fun"?
Koosje speaks about picking up walking as a daily activity, and how that helped generate new ideas.
19:40 Pursuing fun versus having a structured approach to achieving one's goals.
Nishant shares a quote - "You should not have goals. You should have a system." - and what it means to him with regard to his art practice and creative career.
Starting to make abstract art is like climbing a fresh ladder all over again. Does this help Koosje connect with students of art, the people who follow her on YT, and the people who might want to read her book?
33:40 Koosje talks about learning music when young and not enjoying it, and not getting better at it as a result. Nishant wonders if this is about not having a sense for the trajectory of self-improvement in such things.
Koosje started her professional career as a photographer. How did this interest in photography develop and how did she choose to pursue this as a career?
They talk about following one's interests when young, with excitement for the future instead of having a full sense of one's trajectory. Over-deliberation stops us from being in the present moment.
54:05 What did photography offer, and what more did Koosje want that pushed her towards art?
What is the difference between drawing a portrait of someone and taking a picture of them?
They talk about the difference from the point of view of the artist or photographer, and also from the perspective of the subject.
Nishant refers to Ep 15 with George Butler with regard to drawing scenes that are otherwise unattractive.
82:50 What brought Koosje to urban sketching?
For Koosje, it began with travel sketching. Then one day, she went out with a friend to draw in Amsterdam, and became habituated to the practice.
They talk about mimicking others and picking up ideas to get over the plateaus that come along the way.
98:25 Break
I'd like to take a short break here to speak with you about the conversation so far, to preview what's ahead, and to thank my sponsors.
Perhaps my favorite quote from Koosje, which I read on her blog post before our conversation, was that she had discovered "an extended version of the artist" inside herself during COVID lockdown. I found this fascinating for two reasons - (1) the idea that we can discover new founts of creativity within ourselves even years after being in the practice, and (2) that even enormous constraints like COVID lockdown can be an opportunity to pivot and gain a fresh perspective.
I would like you to also consider the idea of "doing what is fun". Is this an idea you have subscribed to, with respect to any hobby or art? Has it paid off in any interesting ways? Is "fun" always about avoiding what's important, or can it be a way to approach life's biggest hurdles? Tell me what you think about these ideas.
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As I just said to Koosje, I recently made a bonus commentary for Ep 15 with George Butler, sharing what I learned about war illustrations and the history of reportage from the battlefield. The support of Insiders gives me the mandate to dive deeper into tangents that catch my interest. I'm offering a free sneak-peek of this Insider post for all listeners. Find that link in the shownotes!
Finally, this episode also comes with a bonus post-script conversation. I often end up speaking further with my guests after we finish the recording. That segment, which is really just a long goodbye, sometimes becomes a second conversation in itself. It's a Post-script conversation without any agenda, in which Koosje and I speak about her ideas for publishing her book, and I ask some things about her Patreon channel. This segment will be shared next week with SneakyArt Insiders.
Now, let's get to the second half of this episode. Having taken the long way around, we arrive at the subject of Sketchbook Skool, and Koosje's YouTube channel, and her intriguing turn to making abstract art.
103:10 Nishant asks about how Sketchbook Skool began.
Koosje talks about her dissatisfaction with online art education as she saw it, and how she approached the topic with her own course in 2011. Speaks about meeting Danny Gregory for the first time, discussing the things they like and dislike about art education, and formulating the ideas that would become Sketchbook Skool.
What does the name "Sketchbook Skool" imply that art school does not?
"That was Danny's idea. It is based on the idea that a sketchbook can be a work of art in itself."
Thinking of the practice of sketchbook keeping and journaling to heal and to become a better person.
"I don't like the word sketch. I use the word drawing instead of sketching."
114:00 Nishant shares his thoughts about the word 'sketch' - the good and the bad.
"The negative side (of the word sketch) is that this is not really 'art', it's just a draft or some quick impressions, and you need to do more in order for it to make art. But the positive side is that if you think you're not making art but just sketches, it allows a newbie to get into this. An important attitude difference by which they permit themselves to make just a sketch on just a page." - Nishant.
Citing listener Kate's question, Nishant asks Koosje the timing and circumstances of her decision to quit Sketchbook Skool.
"In Dec 2019, I was feeling so tired. My therapist told me I'm overloaded and close to a burnout. That made me rethink what I'm doing."
126:00 How did Koosje decide to start a YT channel, and how did she figure the content she wanted to offer on it?
Nishant talks about how making ideas regularly makes it easier to come up with ideas regularly. Discusses the architect vs gardener approach to writing for his newsletter and Koosje's daily IG ritual + weekly YouTube channel.
How important is a regular schedule to her workflow?
"I love having some kind of structure to hold onto. I have rituals - coffee in the morning, sitting down and taking a moment for that, maybe with the sketchbook, so I have a caffeinated art meditation."
137:25 How did Koosje decide to pick up abstract art? What need did she feel to express herself in this way?
What motivates abstraction?
What elements of play and experimentation and discovery come into the art when your painting surface is large, you are standing and moving instead of sitting, and you depict no tangible objects and shapes and 'reality'?
Nishant talks about the importance of losing control in life and in art.
Koosje talks about her future plans, with the kinds of projects she cares about crowdfunding through Patreon.
Thank you for listening!
Our conversation continues post-script. I'll be sending that out next week to SneakyArt Insiders.
I'm glad for your time and attention. I'll see you in the next one!