The Power of the Sketchbook by The Travelling Artist

The fact that I am a traveller who always carries a sketchbook must make me a travelling artist. Not so?

1/ Trekking in Ethiopia

2/ Annie's Garden

3/ Italian shopping

4/ Sarnano

5/ Olives in Puglia

6/ Battered Fabriano sketch book & homemade A5 'Destiny' sketch/scrapbook

I guard my sketchbooks & feel more attached to them than either photos or paintings. They trigger very intense memories & emotions.

Keeping a sketchbook record activates a very different part of the brain to taking photographs & I believe it must be something about the meditative state into which one enters, the concentration or possibly just giving oneself much needed time to stop and stare. I am an unashamed starer!

Likewise I’m always drawn to look at other people’s sketchbooks as they give a much fresher & more immediate idea of their art & inspiration & I feel I then get a good look into how their minds work.

For many years I have used A4 Fabriano sketchbooks that have good strong covers, high quality sewn pages as well as the fantastic paper Fabriano produces. I usually work on a double page spread on both sides as the paper is good enough quality for the paint not to bleed & that way I avoid getting precious about them being finished pieces.

Recently I have started using concertina sketchbooks that are a bit like the game we played as kids: one person starts a drawing, folds the paper and passes it on. You never quite know what you will end up with.

I've included a picture of my 'Destiny' sketchbook, handmade when I realised I did not have a small enough book to sketch a trip to Ravenna in midwinter. I found a number of romance paperbacks in a skip and have repurposed them after realising that their literary merits were non existent, even in Italian.

Everything needs to fit in a small bag so that when you sit down for a coffee you can discreetly drag out your sketchbook and while your partner or friends chat, scroll on phones you can get a quick sketch done. Speed is the key and not being too precious.

In addition to the sketchbooks I carry:

•   Large flat watercolour brush

•   Reservoir pointed brush for drawing

•  Tiny Winsor and Newton watercolour set

•  A variety of pencils and liners

• Tiny tubes of acrylic if I have space

• caran d'ache neocolour crayons

Make sure you sketch...in a book...you'll never regret it. Take your pick there are so many out there and if you are like me you'll soon have quite a variety on offer.