Sketch every day and your hand/eye co-ordination will
develop naturally. But it’s the art of looking that is the
key to drawing well, says artist Karen Wallis.
Observational drawing
The art of
sketchbook drawing
T
hroughout my life,
I have been in the
habit of carrying
a sketchbook in
order to make notes. Often
they remained largely empty
because of the ease of taking
photographs to record a
moment. But in 2008 I had the
opportunity to do a long-term
project, using sketchbook
drawing to record the progress
of a building undergoing
dramatic change.
As Artist in Residence for
three years at The Holburne
Museum in Bath, I began
serious and regular recording in
sketchbook, and it fundamentally
changed my practice as an artist.
This shift was consolidated in a
second sketchbook residency at
Fairfield House in Bath in 2012,
and in order to continue theAllow whatever you
are drawing to speak
to you rather than
imposing your
own prejudice.Fairfield House sketchbook- “Figures in motion
- women dancing tothe steel band at the
summer barbecue.“
Drawing Journal,
September 11, 2014.
“My hand looks
older than it feels.
Can’t believe it’s
as old as it is!“
momentum generated by regular
drawing, I began my daily
Drawing Journal on 1 January,- Since then, I have drawn
something that has caught my
eye each day and posted it on
Facebook and Twitter. That
public commitment has ensured
that I didn’t give up and recently
I posted my 1,000th drawing.
Draw what you actually see
Observational drawing is a
form of bearing witness to an
occasion – and is the basis for
all my sketchbook drawing. The
occasion could be anything: a
social event, something seen
in the street, a moment in the
weather, or simply the pile
of washing up at the end of
the day! Although witnessing
something exterior to oneself, it
must be remembered that total