I'm Not Really One for Sketching......

When I go to the local Art Society painting demonstrations and the visiting artist hands round several immaculate, perfectly executed sketch books, I always feel kind of inferior. I don't really 'do' sketchbooks - I have lots of them, all with the first few pages filled only. I don't know why I have never managed to complete one - possibly having many different ones may have something to do with it, but I just never seem to have the time or opportunity when out and about to get what I want on paper. It's usually easier to photograph the subject from a few angles and sift through the photos when I get home to use them for reference.


These pages are from my Moleskine - I love my Moleskine but always feel I have to produce something a bit special to grace it's pages...not usually what happens however! We had fresh peas from the market the other day - I wanted to get them down on paper, but I wish I'd gone for a proper watercolour instead...


At Marwell Zoo last week, all I managed to sketch successfully was this Maribou Stork - I love these birds, they are so big, ungainly, they eat carrion and with their wispy receding hairline (featherline?) they look like some sinister prehistoric throwbacks. I wonder what it's like to walk when your legs bend that way? I was leaning on a fence post to sketch this, with my family patiently waiting for me to finish - not conducive to concentration!


These were some practice sparrows using a Chinese brush pen and a bit of Chinese watercolour - I'm quite pleased with this page.

But on the whole, my sketchbooks aren't much to show - I prefer to be left alone for a few hours with proper watercolour paper and paint in order to do the job properly. Most of the preparation for my paintings is done in my head - I feel over-sketching a subject makes the final painting tired and lacking in spontaniety. Just my personal view and way of working - I'd probably fail the current GCSE or A level due to lack of back-up work....