Sketchbook Revival - All Messed Up

Another gem from the Sketchbook Revival 2020 videos - Karen Stamper's "Wild Garden" in black and white.  I was particularly looking forward to this as I had found Karen's contribution last year inspiring and freeing.

Materials and techniques suggested were graphite, charcoal, candle wax, wax crayons, glue stick, torn paper stencils, leaf prints, ink (for drawing, spraying and wash), biro, markers, collage, etc.  The idea was to start with random graphite and charcoal, loose scribbles, areas of denser black with rubbed in crushed charcoal, resist marks with wax and glue stick, more charcoal, leaf shapes erased or sprayed through stencils, real leaf prints (directly on the page or collaged), finer lines with biro, inked lines with stick pen, etc.  All really wildly messy, but great fun.

I should probably have left more white areas - I did use white acrylic and then some gesso, but neither covered the charcoal as much as I would have liked.

The Tangled Hedge - mixed media in watercolour Moleskine 

Detail

Diary or daily journalling

I am following Karen Abend's "Sketchbook Revival" videos - over 12 days about 25 artists share some of the ways they use their sketchbooks. I was interested in Carla Sonheim's layout for daily journaling, particularly as I had been thinking of sharing images of the diary layout I have been using since 2012.

Apart from when on holiday, I hadn't given much thought to keeping a diary, but realising I was beginning to have trouble remembering events that happened a few months previously (or even weeks previously) I considered the idea of starting a journal.  I only wanted to make very brief notes about each day, so I opted for a monthly page utilising one of my painted backgrounds to make it a bit more interesting.

I wanted to have each month in A4 format to fit in a plastic folder, but decided that was a bit small to fit in 31 days, so I now decorate an A3 sheet of 100 gsm computer paper and use it horizontally, allowing for a fold out flap to increase the available space.  Once a year is completed I make a sturdy painted card folder for the 12 pages.

A rough guide to layout.  (Several of the spare strips of decorated paper were
used for the basis of this glued spine book)

I am not concerned with precision and my writing
has to be very small, sometimes over-running its
allotted box

The fold-over flaps give room for added decoration

A few of the yearly card folders

A little blue book

A Facebook group I subscribe to - Crafting Handmade Books - sets a monthly challenge.  For March the suggestion was a Blue Book.

I started this with a strip of paper approx. 16" x 3.5", but the final closed booklet is only 1.5" high. I used a strip of 100 gsm A3 computer paper, painted and printed with acrylic and gesso which makes it reasonably sturdy, but still easy to fold.

Feeling blue!

Painted and printed paper and card.  Now what to use them for?

Urban Sketchers Swindon

Our meeting today was at our local Museum and Art Gallery.

I spent some time in one of the small galleries displaying the sketches, drawings and woodcuts of Felicity Cormack who was an artist in residence during the restoration a nearby church - St. Mary's at Lydiard Tregoze.  I was particularly interested in her woodcuts and made an effort to copy the poses of the restoration team with their buckets.

Buckets at Lydiard Tregose - woodcut by Felicity Cormack

My effort in pencil in Hahnemuehle Capuccino sketchbook

After that, I moved outside, sitting on the entrance steps to sketch a couple of the shops on the opposite side of the road.

Pen, watercolour and mixed media

Needing new glasses!

After finishing this imaginary portrait I realised I had placed the eyes too high.  Solution - a collaged pair of spectacles and new eyes!  And why not add a snazzy collar while I'm about it?

Mixed media and collage in tan sketchbook