Sketchbook Explorations E-Book

Shelley Rhodes

• Herausgeber: Batsford
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 131

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

A practical and inspirational guide to help embroiderers and textile artists make the most of sketchbooks to inform their creative work. The artist's sketchbook offers an exciting platform to explore a host of mixed media techniques. Using a combination of paper, textiles, found objects, pencil, ink and paint, Shelley Rhodes shows how a sketchbook can act as an illustrated diary, a visual catalogue of a journey or experience or as a starting point for more developed work.  Whether out on location or in the studio, Rhodes explores every stage of the creative process, from initial inspiration to overcoming the fear of a blank page, manipulating paper and images and incorporating 'found' objects to build a sketchbook that is both beautiful and inspiring. Sketchbook Explorations is the ideal companion for everyone from the beginner to the more experienced artist looking for exciting techniques to expand their repertoire in mixed media. The book explores: - Why work in sketchbooks? The importance and joy of working in a sketchbook. - Ways of recording and investigating ideas that inspire. - Techniques in mixed media from found objects and layers to three-dimensional sketching. - Creating on location. - Using electronic devices to develop ideas.

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

Introduction

Why Work in Sketchbooks?

A Few Good Reasons

Making Sketchbooks Public

Different Types of Sketchbooks

Workbook – Exploring a theme

‘One a Day’ – Creating a daily visual diary

Travel Journal

Collaborative Sketchbooks

Notebooks

Boxes and Containers

Working Within Constraints

Sketchbook Formats

Commercial Sketchbooks

Making Your Own

Sketchbook Manipulation

Making a Start

Drawing with Speed

Using Photographs

Working with a Collection

Pinboards

Three-dimensional Sketches

Getting Started

Working in Mixed Media

Layering a Sketch

Working in Layers

Layering Paper

Drawing and Colouring Media

Investigating Materials

Reuse and Rework

Words and Text

Getting Started with Text

Exploring Text

Travels with a Sketchbook

On Location

One Trip, Two Sketchbooks

Preparing a Travel Sketchbook

Holiday Collections

Walk Sketches

Presentation

Organise the Page

Multiples

Exhibiting Book Formats

Editing and Selection

Your Choices – Choosing what is important to you

Selection

Daily Motivation

Using Digital Technology

Digital Sketching

Tradition Plus Technology

Developing Work through Sketchbooks

Sketchbook Development

In Conclusion

Further Reading

Contributing Artists

Acknowledgements

Index

INTRODUCTION

A sketchbook offers a unique insight into an artist’s thought processes, the development of their ideas and methods of resolving work. For the artist, it helps with organising and recording initial thoughts, enabling them to extract the relevant detail and information in order to develop interesting, exciting and innovative work. Marks, drawings and the use of colour in sketchbooks often have a vibrancy and spontaneity that can be lost in finished pieces of work. They can be used to display a collection, or to filter, order and organise research. Some have a theme to link the content. Words, notes, even jottings or scribbles can clarify things further.

I use drawing as a form of exploration and investigation. It helps me to really see what I am looking at and select what is important. It is part of the journey towards a finished piece of work. I may make a sketch of how I expect the finished piece to look, but I am always prepared to deviate from this.

Working in a sketchbook will help you to focus, to develop your ability to observe, to absorb what you see and to start filtering ideas. Some sketchbooks become the finished work of art. They can be very tactile, precious and personal. Sometimes I work in sketchbooks for pleasure, rather than as a means to an end.

There are many different types of sketchbooks, workbooks, notebooks and journals, and there is no particular right or wrong way to approach working in them. Many artists have more than one type of sketchbook on the go at a time and often flit from one to another.

‘Creativity is about play and a kind of willingness to go with your intuition. It’s crucial to an artist. If you know where you are going and what you are going to do, why do it?’

Frank Gehry

Sketchbook pages (Shelley Rhodes).

I tend to keep a range of sketchbooks that I work in simultaneously. I always try to carry a small sketchbook with me. I find an A6 size works best – if it is much bigger, then it is more likely to get left behind. It’s my habit never to be without a sketchbook, or at least some paper that can be reinserted into a sketchbook.

I hope this book encourages you to keep a sketchbook and eliminates the fear you may have of working in one. What is the worst that can happen? You can always rework a page or collage on top of it; or tear it up, move things around and reassemble it.

‘All art is but dirtying the paper delicately.’

John Ruskin

WHY WORK IN SKETCHBOOKS?

Artists often work in sketchbooks to loosen up and become more spontaneous. Sketchbooks present an opportunity to explore and experiment, enabling the artist to work with freedom and without worry. They are a place to express private and personal thoughts without having to please others.

‘Drawing in a sketchbook teaches first to look and then to observe, and finally perhaps to discover … and it is then that inspiration might come.’

Le Corbusier

A FEW GOOD REASONS

Some people have a complete fear of keeping a sketchbook, usually because they lack confidence in their drawing skills. It can help to overcome this mental block by thinking of a sketchbook as a ‘workbook’ – a place to write notes, jot things down, keep doodles, scribbles, found objects, images from magazines or photographs, as well as a place to explore colour and mark-making.

Working in a sketchbook often helps artists to connect with a certain location or subject. Drawing and mark-making helps me to develop a deeper connection with my chosen subject.

Workbook page (Shelley Rhodes).

Workbooks (Shelley Rhodes).

I use workbooks to explore a specific theme. This keeps everything in one place where ideas can be developed, filtered and expanded, including trying different compositions and colour combinations, as well as exploring materials and processes. It is a place where ideas can be ordered and organised.

On the whole, my sketchbooks are quite methodical, as I tend to work my way through the pages in order. I make notes and diagrams of ideas and concepts that I may wish to explore further. Some artists, however, work randomly, jumping from one idea to another then back again, as they try to make connections and cross-reference their ideas. Written notes and descriptions are useful, particularly when you want to refer back to earlier thoughts and ideas.

Workbook (Shelley Rhodes).

Details from ‘Dominican Republic’ sketchbook with limited colour palette (Shelley Rhodes).

Sketchbook from Southern France (Sara Midda).

Travel sketchbooks (Shelley Rhodes).

Working in sketchbooks helps an artist to edit, organise and filter ideas. When choosing what to include and what to leave out of a sketch, a selection process has already started. It would not be possible to include every detail in a quick ten-minute drawing, so some decisions need to be made early. Sometimes these are subconscious; other times deliberate choices are made. The process of simplification of line and marks begins, along with the choice of a colour palette.

Sketchbooks offer a great chance to explore colour and test different colour combinations. It is not always necessary to represent the colour that you observe in a realistic way. Of course, you could stick to a monochrome palette, perhaps with the introduction of one or two colours. Limiting a colour palette sometimes allows for more freedom of expression with mark-making and drawing.

Extracting colour and painting small colour swatches can be a useful exercise to aid colour selection. When you start to look really closely, there are often many more colours than you might think at first glance. A colour palette can be extracted and used in more developed work. Sara Midda does this in her books Sketchbook from Southern France and A Bowl of Olives. She extracts colours from the landscape, buildings, flowers, food and architectural details, painting little colour swatches with written descriptions. This enables her to see how one colour works with another.

Often artists use sketchbooks to help them to make a connection to a place, particularly when travelling. The combination of drawings, found objects, tickets and text helps to evoke specific reminders of time and place far better than photographs ever could.

Workbook page exploring bleached coral samples (Shelley Rhodes).

Faded Glory, 30cm × 30cm × 5cm(Shelley Rhodes).

Workbook page exploring texture and surface quality (Shelley Rhodes).

Many artists use a sketchbook to revisit recurring themes and ideas. This enables them to take a fresh approach and look at things from a new perspective. Sometimes, when I look back at old sketchbooks and workbooks, there are ideas noted that were never fully pursued or developed. Sketchbooks enable you to revisit, rediscover and reinvestigate ideas or themes more thoroughly.

Workbooks can be used to log details of experiments with materials, dyes, processes and new methods of working. I find it useful to make notes alongside small samples, so that I can refer back to them later. For example, following a trip to Cuba, I became interested in the quality of the crumbling, old walls and flaking paint on the buildings. I wanted to re-create the quality of the surfaces in my work, so I experimented with combining scrim with wax, plaster, paint, porcelain slip and varnish. It was interesting to layer the media in a different order and to record the different outcomes. This eventually led to a whole body of new work. Working in sketchbooks helps me to notice, to see the quirky or unusual and capture shape, pattern, colour, marks, composition and movement. I am constantly looking around for an opportunity to record what I see, extract detail, make a note or even take a photograph. My sketchbook work has made me more visually aware on many levels.

Sometimes I cut, tear and reassemble my mark-making and drawings, creating small assemblages, as I move towards a resolved outcome.

Working in sketchbooks may be outside your comfort zone, but using them will help you to grow creatively. It is all too easy to keep doing what you know works or what you are comfortable with, but it is good to challenge yourself to try to push your ideas forward.

MAKING SKETCHBOOKS PUBLIC

Sketchbooks are often personal, private and not intended to be looked at publicly. They can tell a story or act as a private dialogue with yourself as you try to work through ideas. My ‘one a day’ books become a very personal visual diary, documenting my daily life.

However, many artists choose to share their sketchbooks on the internet using websites, blogs and social media. This opens up an immediate global audience for their work, while enabling them to retain control over what is shown and what remains private. Some artists even choose to post their sketchbook entries daily: what better motivation for drawing every day than knowing your audience is waiting for the next post!

I create my sketchbooks without the intention of displaying them, but they have been displayed publicly in several exhibitions. Some of these were exhibitions specifically about sketchbooks, but sometimes they have been shown as backup and exploratory work to the main exhibition pieces.

Deciding whether to show your sketchbooks or keep them private is a personal decision. This year, I embarked on a daily Instagram post sharing a page from my daily sketchbook. I have enjoyed the comments and reactions, but ultimately I get to choose what I show and what I keep for myself.

‘Mostly drawings are things I make for myself – I do them in sketchbooks. They are mental experiments – private inner thoughts when I am not sure what will come out.’

Sigmar Polke

Sketchbooks (Shelley Rhodes).

Workbook page exploring coral (Shelley Rhodes).

DIFFERENT TYPES OF SKETCHBOOKS

There are many different types of sketchbooks, such as a visual diary in which you work every day, sketchbooks that explore a particular subject or period of time, travel journals, notebooks for jottings, and workbooks in which a subject or theme is thoroughly explored and investigated.

WORKBOOK

Exploring a theme

Generally I start a new sketchbook when I am beginning to explore a new concept, theme or subject. Usually this will lead to a new body of work. Initially, I keep it relatively broad, so that I do not narrow my options too early. This enables me to explore the subject in the widest sense, and often leads me to move forward in an unexpected direction.

I think of it as a workbook, containing a collection and development of ideas. I include my own photographs as well as those I find in books, magazines and online. I research work by other artists who have worked on similar themes or ideas, and I make reference to these by including an image, such as a postcard, or by jotting down a website address. However, it is important to take ideas forward in your own way and to be a creator, not an imitator.

My favourite workbook size is an A3 format, sometimes landscape, sometimes portrait. I prefer spiral bound, which enables the books to become quite fat. Pages can easily be worked on separately and reinserted (see Sketchbook Formats, here).

‘There are many ways to draw beautifully. It’s important to let the drawing be an investigation and sometimes, in order to investigate, you need to go off the path.’

Jacob Collins

I tend to start with words, quickly jotting them down with phrases associated to the overall theme. Sometimes doing this sparks off an interesting thought that I want to explore further. Then I collect and gather objects linked to my subject that can be used as inspiration for drawing and mark-making. I often make a series of small drawings so that I really get to know and understand what I am looking at. Sometimes I draw the same thing over and over, but alter the viewpoint, angle, scale and drawing media.

The drawings often inspire printmaking, which could be monoprints, press prints, collagraphs or etchings.

Adding washes of watercolour and ink over the top of prints allows me to explore different colour combinations. Photocopies of drawings and mark-making can be used in a similar way. Sometimes I draw back into the photocopy with coloured pencil, ink, chalk, pastel or other colouring media. It is a great way to see how different colours sit together without ruining an original drawing or print. It makes things less precious if you have multiple copies of your work as you will not be ‘ruining’ anything. This may lead you to work with greater freedom, to be more experimental, encouraging you to move out of your comfort zone as you try combinations that you would never usually put together. Of course, these colour experiments can be chopped up, torn, collaged and reassembled to give a whole new look to your original drawing.

I also photocopy my drawings, mark-making and photographs onto acetate or tracing paper. Then I can start to layer images to see if any interesting combinations can be discovered.

I often make prints as a way of exploring a subject. I like the quality of the lines, textures and marks that I would not create through drawing alone. The marks are often less controlled. Occasionally, the back of a print, where the ink seeps through the paper, can be more interesting than the intended image. I love the unpredictability and serendipity of printmaking. Invariably, there will be some prints that do not work or that you are unhappy with. These provide you with a great opportunity creatively as they would have been discarded anyway: tear or chop them up, rearrange and stitch together, use for collage or partly paint out and redraw over the top.

My workbook is a place where I document my experimentation with new materials. While exploring the notions of distressing, repairing, mending and reassembling, I used the opportunity to make samples with materials that I do not generally use, such as latex, metal, plaster and raffia. I discovered interesting ways to distress fabric before repairing and reconstructing and this led me to investigate Japanese Boro textiles. My workbook pages included research photographs, alongside stitched samples, snippets and further experimentation with burning and layering. While doing this, I did not have an end point in mind, but I was thoroughly exploring a concept and a way of working. Eventually, this research did lead to several different series of mixed-media work.

Workbook page – observational studies (Shelley Rhodes).

Reworked print (Shelley Rhodes).