Sketchy Behaviour
Next week I am giving a workshop on how to keep a travel sketchbook. In a desperate attempt to get organised I made sure that I had all my sketchbooks in one place because they do tend to wonder about the house and find the way up into the studio.
When I go to an exhibition and drawing books are out on display these are the first thing to which I head. There were some fantastic sketchbooks from a Tracey Emin exhibition A Fortnight of Tears sometime back in 2019. The current Lucian Freud show at the National Portrait Gallery Lucian Freud: Drawing into Painting has some wonderful sketchbooks to enjoy.
I am always pleased when I have open studios or an exhibition and put my books out for other people to see that the level of engagement is very high it’s a great way to start conversations.
I started the practice of keeping these books in 1986. I’ve used various formats and had a dalliance with Moleskine books (Bruce Chetwin) from 2004 through to 2020.
I have made 116 sketch books all told. The other thing I do, since 2004, is scan them all. Goodness knows why. The scans are stored by location, country or city.
Here is a downloadable PDF of guidelines for keeping a travel sketchbook Free Guide: Keeping a Travel Sketchbook
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