Bye Bye Blackbird

Bye Bye Blackbird, 21cm x 29.5cm, pencil on paper by Claire Leach

Out of five little sketches of birds that I made in my sketchbook, I found myself being drawn to the last one on the page, the blackbird. The quick 20 minute drawing seemed to capture the shimmer of the feathers, how the little bird seemed to stand proudly. I decided to make a drawing with three blackbirds on to capture a few different views of the bird. I like the idea of making slightly larger drawings with several birds on rather than the small singular portraits of birds that I have been doing for years. I am also intrigued by the idea of landscapes with birds in them, perhaps a little abstract. Since working in my sketchbook I have all these ideas that I want to pursue which was exactly my hope when I started it, now I just need to find a little more time.

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The Beginning Of A Sketchbook

Whilst perusing Instagram I saw that Shilpa Agashe, somebody who I have been following for quite some time was using a sketchbook, the way she was working in it really attracted my attention. There were painterly elements, text and collage. I really liked the aesthetics of it and it inspired me to have a go at using a sketchbook myself. I’ve never been much of a sketchbook user, I start them with good intentions but never seem to make it past the first few pages. I feel a bit like a bad artist for not using one, surely all good artists keep sketchbooks that could be works of art in themselves?! I only really kept them at university because they were a required element. I love seeing other peoples sketchbooks and find them to be a great insight into how an artist works. I tend to just draw on separate bits of paper, but I end up being very precious with it, hoping that whatever I make will be good enough to put in my shop and sell. There isn’t much room for experimentation with that kind of thinking.

So, with the U.K. in the middle of lockdown due to coronavirus I decided to start a sketchbook. I dug out an old book which I bought from L. Cornelissen & Son in London many years ago, I’d already ripped several of the first pages out so it was practically new. A fresh start. The only rule with my sketchbook was that there are no rules whatsoever. If I want to draw little landscapes, birds and flowers in my usual mediums then that’s fine, if I want to dip the whole thing in paint then that’s fine too. The point is to create, to gather ideas, to record what’s going on in my head and the outside world. To help inspire new work, to perfect techniques, to try something new, to work with colour and to continue with black and white. It’s all valid.

I’ve began making drawings in my sketchbook. A little pencil sketch from one of my last walks before lockdown, a sweet drawing of blossom made in fountain pen. A bright green tree with flecks of blue which I’m desperate to paste over with something else. Some birds chosen at random from my RSPB pocket guide, a detailed landscape of silhouetted trees in fine liner pen and a blousy daffodil with handmade paper collaged over the top. The sketchbook has already inspired ideas for future work, I’m excited to get stuck in to it when my son goes to sleep, it has ignited a need to draw again which I had been missing for a while.

Do you keep a sketchbook? If so then does it help you with your work?

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A Note On Inspiration

Walking along a sun dappled pathway, through a wood where the trees aren’t so dense that the forest feels foreboding and yet plentiful so they screen any signs of road, houses, other people. Walking boots that feel clumsily big, occasionally catching tree roots. Air that feels clean to breathe, fresh. Silence except for chirruping birds, wind dancing through leaves, my footsteps. Eyes darting from tree to tree, branch to branch, leaf to leaf. Constantly framing views, the way the path curls slightly to the right, the twisting branch to the left, the patch of bright green ferns. Fallen leaves, twigs, pebbles. A moss covered tree stump.

Woodland Study V

Mottisfont in July

My biggest inspiration, the forest and all it entails. As I walk through a forest or a wood of some kind I’m constantly in search of my next drawing subject. Even if I’m not actively seeking inspiration it seeps in, a gentle stroll becomes a research mission, always. I’ve loved the countryside and in particular woods for as long as I can remember. I’ve written before about how childhood trips in a caravan to the Forest of Dean instilled in me a love for the outdoors. I’ve been drawing and painting landscapes since studying Fine Art at BA level, nearly 10 years since graduating and I’m still not done with the subject. While studying a Fine Art MA my practice evolved from pencil drawings to tight slightly abstracted pen drawings to large scale loose chalk on blackboard drawings of forest views.

Pathway III

Since graduating with an MA in Fine Art I’ve continued to draw, and draw, and draw. I’ve gone back to fine liners, they feel most comfortable for me. The drawings are not totally representational, they aren’t abstract either. In my mind I’m creating a kind of impression of a landscape, attempting to capture the light and the detail. Building an image through repetitive mark making that allows my mind to wander back to where I was when I took the photograph that I use to aid composition. Some of the drawings work well, in my mind they almost shimmer, like when you’re looking up to the tree tops and the light dapples through. Some drawings don’t work as well and feel flat and lifeless, full of detail but missing something.

Woodland Study IV

Late Afternoon in Micheldever Wood

If I can’t get to a wood or if I’m in need of an inspiration fix from home then I have a small collection of art books to see me through. Most focus on Impressionists and painters of landscapes. Favourite artists include Monet, David Hockney, Peter Doig and Tracey Emin (the catalogue from her solo exhibition at The White Cube titled The Last Great Adventure Is You is a favourite to peruse). I like painterly paintings. Expressive brush strokes, colours that reflect what you see in nature. Beautiful lines made by a fine brush, paint drips. The art I like is nothing like the art I produce, I’ve often wondered about that.

Other Things That Inspire Me:

Postcards, interesting stamps, maps, black and white photography, collections of things in glass cases, walled gardens, Chinese ink paintings, rows of oil paint tubes arranged in rainbow order, old sketchbooks.

What inspires you?

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