'The place where inspiration hits the page running... A sketchbook to fail and reflect on my work and my process'

Wednesday 5 February 2014

Something is happening...








After going out sketching the other day I spent some time working on them in the studio and came up with these. I really like these as contenders for landscapes for books, to accompany a character and storyline I am working on. These are just mock sketches and a bit clunky in places but the essence is there. The trees aren't right, so more playing and sketching to be done.

Also after using very natural more somber colours (my natural palette), I will start introducing a brighter colour palette, when I am more confident in the style and process.







Monday 3 February 2014

Sketching from life...









I went sketching while I walked the dog at the weekend, it was time. I left it too late and had to rush in the end but I got out there and did a few sketches... I prepared the pages before hand, but in the mud and the cold it really was a fiddle, with all my pencils etc.. I realised I like using all sorts of pencils, pens and paints, which means it's all a bit tricky. I don't have one favourite pencil or pen, so I use all that I have. With cold sticky fingers, holding them all at once and drawing is hard. But I still enjoyed it and will go again when it stops raining! I was being drawn to the houses hidden in the trees and the structures that offered lines and blocks of texture. I love the shapes and textures that the trees make from a distance. I realised that my better drawings worked when my intention was to make the scene my own rather than to replicate what I see. If I want to replicate it I take a photo, and if I am inspired to paint and make something different using that reference, I already know what pencils and colours I want to use, so I get the sketchbook out.

So here are some sketches above and I have singled out three of my favourite pages, which were done at home before I went, thinking of landscapes for my narrative work. I look over these and already see the core of something I can take into my own children's books... slowly feeding the new work, and making sense of it so I can replicate it in the studio.