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?

If you enjoyed reading then please click the heart at the bottom, share or better still leave me a comment, I love reading them. ❤️

An Exhibition Realised

While travelling back in 2016/17 I kept a small sketchbook where I recorded little drawings and doodles inspired by the varying landscapes that I was seeing. By the end of the trip I had amassed a small collection of handmade postcards which I could see being developed into a whole new series of travel inspired drawings. On return from my eleven month trip in July 2017 I approached a gallery and submitted a proposal for an exhibition of drawings which was accepted and pencilled in to the diary for July 2018. I had a year to turn eleven months worth of experiences into a collection of work that would fill a space all on its own.

I got to work using the postcards that I had made as a starting point. I had a sketch from a walkway at Iguazu Falls in Argentina, a muddy road in Paraty, Brazil, a forest landscape in Argentina’s Lake District as well as many more. As the months trickled away I found that my drawings were developing, they were getting more detailed and my focus became rugged landscapes; forests and woodland scenes were featuring heavily which matched up with the drawings I was doing on another project which focused on British woodland. I managed to utilise some handmade paper which I had picked up in Pokhara, Nepal just before returning home. I created loose inky sketches using Indian ink, watercolour and charcoal and based the drawings on the stunning Santa Cruz area of Peru.

Three Drawings In Situ at The Sheep Shed Gallery

The Exhibition Poster

Over a year I’d made 22 drawings for the exhibition which by this time I’d titled ‘From The Road’ a nod to Jack Kerouac’s novel ‘On The Road’. The exhibition deadline had given me focus which I sorely needed as I’d been out of practice with drawing. I framed the drawings myself and fixed the frames with hanging materials. The drawings were then taken to The Sheep Shed Gallery in Weyhill, Hampshire where they were displayed for two weeks. The main objectives for organising the exhibition were to provide a way to take all the ideas and memories from the trip and put them down on paper, to provide a project that would motivate me to draw after a long absence, to gain more exhibition experience and to build a rapport with a gallery. I succeeded in all these objectives which left me feeling fulfilled and grateful that after a year of work I could say that the exhibition was a success.

The feedback I received was positive, apparently upon seeing the drawings close up many couldn’t believe it was done in pen by hand. Aside from achieving my goals I was pleased to have sold one of the drawings and have interest in others. Exhibiting at The Sheep Shed Gallery was such a pleasant experience, at the end of the exhibition I was offered a last minute spot on the gallery’s ‘red wall’ as an artist had withdrawn. If I hadn’t built a relationship with the gallery then this opportunity wouldn’t have been available to me and so I was very grateful for that. With one exhibition finished I was already back in the studio creating a small collection of brand new works for the ‘red wall’ which was displayed for two weeks in early September. I’d gone from having no real exhibition experience for a couple of years due to work and travel commitments to two exhibitions in a matter of months!

I look forward to exhibiting at The Sheep Shed Gallery again in the future and to also finding experience exhibiting elsewhere across Hampshire and beyond.

If you’d like to see all the drawings that were created for the exhibition then please click here. Many of the works are available to purchase in my online shop; to see what’s available click here.

If you enjoyed reading then please click the heart at the bottom, share or better still leave me a comment, I love reading them. ❤️

The 100 Day Project 2018

Day Three of One Hundred: A Tree In Bergen Drawn In Fountain Pen

I took part in the 100 Day Project in 2016 and found it challenging and rewarding in equal parts. Looking back after 100 days to see 100 drawings felt very satisfying though the journey to get there wasn't easy. In 2017 I was oversees and so didn't have the materials or time to take part in the project so when this years project rolled around I decided (a little last minute) to give it another go. My theme in 2016 was simply to make a postcard everyday, there were no boundaries in terms of subject or medium and I enjoyed the freedom to use inky washes one day and pencil the next.

For the 2018 project I have decided to focus my efforts on drawing birds, plants and trees. I've been drawing birds on and off for a few years and find that my drawing skill can always be practised in this area as I've never been confident drawing realistically. I love capturing the character of a bird in the drawings that I have done in the past and hope that over 100 days my bird knowledge will improve alongside my drawings of them. It's a similar story with trees and plants. My landscape drawings are made up of trees and plants but I capture them in more of an abstract way, utilising tiny shapes and patterns to create an overall image of nature and landscape at its most magical. By picking out trees and plants to draw individually I hope to improve my knowledge and help inspire new shapes and ways of drawing to feed into my fine liner pen landscapes. 

Already I have found that being organised with the project has been an issue as I am falling behind at such an early stage. In fact my very first drawing was a day late. Rather then scold myself I have decided to also use the project as a reminder that things don't have to be absolutely perfect and that if something isn't quite finished or ready to be posted it can wait until tomorrow or the next day, I want the project to be a joy and not a burden otherwise I fear I won't see it through till the end. 

I will be listing drawings in my online shop every week or so in order to make room for more work. 100 postcards were easy to keep tidied away but as this project has no size limits I fear I may drown in paper in no time. If you'd like to follow along with my efforts then I am posting the project on Instagram using the hashtag #clairedrawsbirdsandbotany, you can follow me here. 

Day One Of One Hundred: A Female Chaffinch Drawn In Pencil

Day Eight Of One Hundred: A Sweet Sparrow Drawn In Pencil

Are you taking part in the 100 day project this year or have you done it before? Let me know in the comments below and wish me luck!

If you enjoyed reading then please click the heart at the bottom, share or better still leave me a comment, I love reading them. ❤️