For years I didn't use a sketchbook, I know what an admission ! , I felt it was wasting good painting time ! But since running art holidays in the Dordogne I have rediscovered the joys of sketching. I treated myself to most gorgeous hand bound leather 3oo gms watercolour journal, yes, very posh and very beautiful indeed. I found it so easy and convenient to just pack a backpack, with a few paints and brushes and off I went, we ended up perched on hillsides or balanced on walls overlooking St Emillion, but wherever we were sketching it was made so easy and portable that I slowly fell in love with it again. Of course the very nature of sketching on the spot means the work is loose and immediate and because of that it has an energy , it reminds me to recreate those fast vigorous marks back in the studio. I also use my sketchbook for keeping small snippets and tiny sections of work, you know those paintings that end up at the bottom of the bin !, we all have them, they went terribly wrong but somehow that tiny section in the corner said everything you wanted to say ….well I keep that tiny section and stick it in my sketch book for future reference/ inspiration…….so now I enjoy looking through, building up a book full of ideas, memories , inspiration and experiments.
The funny thing is I also absolutely love looking through other artists sketch books ………..they are like little look into the workings of their mind.
Revisiting the sketch book
Ideas and inspiration