Sketchbooks
Observational Drawing
Observational drawing, picking up on small details.
Observational drawing, picking up on small details. Hands clasped behind the back, trousers tucked into the back of shoes, quietly taking in surrounding, flat caps, creased beige clothing, solitude.
Stitching Sketchbooks
I don’t buy sketchbooks. I make my own.
I don’t buy sketchbooks, I make my own. Sketchbooks with half decent paper are costly. I’m lucky to have access to a vast range of beautiful papers in various weights, shades and surfaces.
The pages of this sketchbook are 118gsm Strathmore Writing Wove. Strathmore Writing paper was introduced in 1920 as written correspondence was booming. It contains 25% cotton, originally sourced from trimmings reclaimed from textile mills.
Strathmore is a beautiful paper for sketching. With pen or pencil but with a soft crayon it simply glides with enough tooth for exquisite texture to the mark making.
My process for making my sketchbooks is simple. I take the sheets, add a heavy weight outer sheet and hand stitch them all together with a ruddy big needle. The following shows an A5 sketchbook made from Fedrigoni inner sheets hand stitched to a 540gsm Colorplan cover.
That’s a might fine cuppa.
Observing and sketching in McDonalds.
Observing and sketching in McDonalds. Yeah, yeah I know, I’m in Maccie D’s, but I didn’t order anything.
Closeup
Getting up close and personal with a sketchbook.
Getting in close with a camera and a 23mm wide angle lens is nerve racking. But getting this close with a sketchbook is verging on suicide!
Give it a try - if you dare!
Stand in a queue, wait in line or move in close while waiting for a bus. If you were to pull out a camera and snap away you are gonna get some serious daggers. But pull out a sketchbook and quietly scribble away with the occasional glance up at your subject and they think nothing of it.
For all they know you are writing your latest novel, jotting something down as a reminder or even adding spuds to your shopping list.
But for close up head studies it’s invigorating.
