Sketchbook materials

So.........what to USE in a sketchbook?  The answer is, just about anything.....pencils, coloured and plain, graphite, conte and pastel (dont forget to spray fix!)  ink;  watercolour;  gouache;  watersoluble art pens;  watersoluble coloured pencils; brush pens...............the list is pretty endless, and you need to experiment to find out what suits you best.  I thought I would share one of my favourites (apart from watercolour) with you.


A little while back, I discovered the most gorgeous stuff by accident, as I went out without my watercolours, but did have this little bottle in my kit.  I had had it for ages, and never used it, not even sure why I bought it. In fact, it was enormous fun, so  I eventually did a whole sketchbook - a spiral bound pad of watercolour paper, actually, so that one could then tear out individual sheets and frame if a masterpiece was achieved (! well, gotta live in hope), if not, then at least they stayed clean and safe.  No need to stretch the paper using this method.  The stuff I used is called 
DR. PH MARTINS RADIANT WATERCOLOUR, and comes in bottles with a rubber eyedropper thingy at the top.  You can use them direct from the bottle, or can dilute with water.
Here is a pic of the bottle:

I used just one colour - I had  a bottle in my pencil case,  and a dip pen, with nib, you know the kind?  That was for the linear work.  I also had a tiny spray bottle of water with me, and plenty of tissues.

I think the colour is Tobacco Brown.

I love the Prolene retractable brushes when travelling, the lids slip onto the handles, and I particularly like the square-ended brush:

So how did I work?  Well, realising I had left my lovely watercolours back at the appartment, I decided to be brave and try an "ink" sketch. The only "ink" I had with me, apart from rollerball pens which I did not want to use,(lines too regular) was this little bottle of Dr. PH Martins.  I began with a tiny bit of pencil to put things "in position" cos I am always slightly nervous of going straight in with a dip pen.  Then did quite a bit of "drawing" with linear work, dipping the pen straight into the bottle.    

Then, I left it to dry -  didn't have to wait long, but I really was not much impressed with all the hard pen lines everywhere, despite using a dip pen which gives you more variety to the lines, it still looked so stiff to my eye, so, always one to experiment, I gave parts of the pic a burst of water with my little spray bottle, just to see what would happen! I had no idea if the stuff was permanent, or might "run" as some inks do.    Wow!!!  Magic!  The lines began to dissolve where the water hit them, and realising what was happening, I quickly put some of the watercolour "ink" into a plastic watercup I had with me, added some water, and with my brushes, I reinforced some of the washes.  See that ripple of water under the pole in the Venice pic?  To do that, I put clear water onto the paper, and dropped some of the Doc Martins into it.  Yummy result!

A tissue can quickly be used to blot areas to stop too much dissolving going on if you want it to stop.

When dry, I found I could then add more, and do it all over again! And as often as i wanted.     If you want fine details towards the end, best to do this on the dry pic.

I loved working in this way, and used it for lots of different images, many of which did get framed, and sold in the end, which I rather regret because they are no longer in my sketchbooks!

Here is another, done on a different trip, and this time I added a few tiny touches of subtle watercolour colours, again, in the spirit of experimentation.  This was done in a small village in France, I called it "One and a half doors"  ! In this one, towards the end, I used the Doc Martins almost neat out of the bottle for the stronger, darker washes.  "Neat" is a good word to use, I like both of its meanings!

 The fab thing about experimenting in a sketchbook is that if you don't like what you do, you dont need to show ANYONE.

More sketchbook info to come!

further sketchbook thoughts

Before we get to specifics about materials and sketchbook types, I would like to say a further word or two about the USE of the sketchbook.  You saw from my previous post that I like to sketch on my travels, and my sketchbooks often contain images which are simply records of what I see and want to capture.

small woodland thumbnails

However, I touched on the idea of also using your sketchbook for THUMBNAIL SKETCHES, and without going into the whys and wherefores and design elements of thumbnails, let me just say this.  When you are working on location, you sit in front of a promising subject - and it stretches on indefinitely, above, below and to each side, doesn't it!  Well, if you plan to create a painting from your subject, it really does help to get some sense of what the image may look like eventually CAPTURED WITHIN A RECTANGLE (or square of course). You can use your camera viewfinder, this helps to isolate a scene.  You can also use a small cardboard viewfinder.  whatever you choose, doing a thumbnail forces you to:

•  take the edges of the scene into consideration, 
• to see how your subject "fits" within that rectangle, and
• whether it "balances" nicely. 

and when you then come to paint at your easel, you will feel a greater sense of confidence - it makes a big difference, even without knowing very much about composition and design..it will automatically help you to trust your own judgement.


The top image above shows three thumbnails in a sketchbook which is approx  10" square.    Two pencil ones, and one with added watercolour.  In the end, I didn't like any of them very much, and didn't paint this subject at all!  But I did enjoy sitting there doing them, and it is all good practice.

Venice window

Now this one I really enjoyed.  I started with the top window, and allowed the image to grow up, down and out from there.  I knew more or less right from the start that I would paint within a tall rectangle, it was that kind of scene,  so I just had to think carefully about the placement of the main elements when I started on my pastel paper.  After about 15 mins spent on this watercolour sketch in my sketchbook, I cracked on with the painting, which happened quite quickly.  the shadows moved a bit as I worked, but I had my sketch to refer to, so it didn't affect me too much, I stuck with the sketchbook shadows.

I could have worked the thumbnail just with pencil, a tonal study,  but actually, I find it really helpful to use watercolours onto my pencil sketches;  with a tiny winsor & Newton travel box of watercolours, I can quickly capture the areas of colour and tone within the scene, more quickly than scribbling away with coloured pencils.  Watercolours are transparent, so if it dries too light, you simply add another layer.  You don't have to worry too much about technique, as it dries very quickly. If you put in a tone which is too dark, you can add some clear water and blot it to lift the colour.  If you wish, you can work with pencils over the top, even a simple lead pencil is good to add extra darks.   Remember,  it is only a sketchbook image after all - you dont have to show it to anyone, it is just for YOU, for reference!

TIP:  Just one thing.........if you do work just in pencil, pastel pencils, or charcoal, dont forget to use plenty of spray fixative, because otherwise, when you close your sketchbook, you will dirty the opposing page.

If you have no chance to work on location to complete a painting from your thumbnail, you can take photos of course, and then work at home, BUT ONE THING IS FOR SURE.  YOUR MEMORY OF THE PLACE WILL BE REINFORCED BY HAVING DONE THAT LITTLE SKETCH ON LOCATION. It makes a huge difference.  Just taking a photo and working from that photo at home is one approach, which can work,  but I absolutely promise you, hand on heart, that you will enjoy your painting experience far more if you have spent time producing a thumbnail sketch first.  Studying your subject FULL SIZE, even just for the 15 mins it might take to make that little thumbnail sketch, makes all the difference in the world.  It is a very positive way to use part of your sketchbook.