Artists & Illustrators - UK (2020-04)

T

heperfectsketchbook.

Therearemanyideasaboutit,

butnoblueprintforit andno

rulesabouthowtouseit.Anoutdoors

sketcherwilltellyouhowdrawingyour

immediateenvironmentcreatesfar

bettermemoriesthanif taking

photographsofthesamesubject,

whereasa studiosketchermighttell

youthatworkinginthequietofthe

studioallowsthemtodigdeeperand

exploreideaswithnodistraction.It’s

horsesforcourses,thereareno

“should”s.

Bewarned,though,thereare

quitea lotofratherperfectlooking

sketchbooksonsocialmediathese

days,whicharedecidedlygorgeous

butcanbequitedauntingtouseas

yourmodel.It’sbettertoapproach

yoursketchbookfearlessly– it’syour

ownprivatespace,whereyoucan

recordorrespondtowhatyousee

andalsotryoutthosenewideas,

mediaandtechniques,workoutyour

compositions,orplaywithcolour,

toneandmore.

A sketchbookis notmeantto

frighten,buttogivepermissionto

play.Allowforthoseinevitabledead

endsandmistakesthatmusthappen

enroutetosomethingthatworks;

those“failures”arestepstowards

resolvingandexpressingideas.

Myownmainsourceofinspiration

thesedayshasbeenmylocal

allotments.Artistically,it’sa great

combinationofwildweedsand

bramblesonitsedgesinterspersed

withtheneatstructuresofcultivation.

Thesketchesandphotographs

I makeonsiteI thenuseinthestudio

todomoresketchbookwork,where

editingbecomesa bigpartofthe

process.It is justaboutpossibleto

wanderuntilyoufindtheliterally

“perfect”view,butevenwhenyou’re

sittinginfrontofa lovelyviewyou’ll

beeditingasyoudrawandI definitely

findit moreexcitingtoelements

togetherandleaveelementsoutina

waythatinspires.Onceoffthehook

ofreproducingwhatI see,the

creativeoptionsareendless,and

I canplaytomyheart’scontent.

Aswellasa placetoexperiment,

a sketchbookis alsoa libraryanda

greatpersonalresource.WhenI hita

blankspotanddon’tknowwhereto

headnext,it’salwaysa goodideato

havea rummagethroughthemand

seeif anyoftheideasinthereinspire

newwork.Belowareeightideasfor

usingyoursketchbookscreatively.

Approach your sketchbook fearlessly

• it’s your own private space

Cr e

ske c

ks

TECHNIQUE

Watercolourist KATE OSBORNE opens up her sketchbooks to

show you some inventive ways to develop your ideas in private

1

SKETCH FASTER

Some sketchbook drawings can

be reworked over a period of time, but

often time is short. As an exercise,

I sometimes even limit the amount

of time I allow myself to spend on a

sketch. Working fast forces a more

instinctive way of working.

This allotment sketch was executed

so rapidly that it has become pretty

abstract, more about colour and

shape than an accurate

representation.

1