Last week: Working at the front and the back of my book

February 15, 2016 | Leave your thoughts


I am not sure where last week went!  I think this is often the way after a big deadline (when you achieve a lot in a short period of time). But as always when I look back I can see how much I did in fact achieve even on a ‘quieter catch-up’ week.

One of the lovely features of keeping a sketchbook of your life is that you get to review your week in images and words. There is always more in quantity, and it is always more interesting than you expect.

I had a few outings this week, so it is nice to have a little variety (variety = instead of my teacups, and lattes from my local cafe, it is other place’s teacups and coffees!)

This week I am also sharing a few pages that were done. out of order. in the back of the book.

Despite wanting to stick as much as I can to a chronological sequence of sketches in my sketchbook, I worked in the back of the book quite a bit this week for a number of reasons:

  • I wanted to use the new Winsor and Newton pigment markers and wasn’t sure how much they would bleed through the page.
  • I wasn’t feeling warmed up enough to sketch my train people in the front of my book. Note to self: I always regret doing this as the page is out of sequence… “so don’t be fearful, just go for it!”
  • I was showing a friend a few of my favourite watercolour mixes.
  • I was doing a messy page of pen tests. I don’t normally share these at all, but most of my sketchbooks have a page where I scribble and show people how I use a pen, test theirs, jot down a random thought that doesn’t really fit into the front page for the day or is a little more private.

So here they are:


A coffee from a different cafe – Lemonrind – where I was having a meeting. And a quick sketch at my favourite cafe – The Missing Piece – during my lunch.


I am wanting to record the details of my day-to-day life so am trying to include more text. A very quick and loose single line drawing of my pile of sketchbooks that were out for scanning (for the book I am writing).


It was a mixed-up week so I didn’t so a weekly latte spread. Coffee and tea… what more can I say?


Another latte and a recording of an exciting event – losing enough weight to fit back into one of my favourite ‘sketching uniform’ dresses.



Here are the full spreads of the sketches I did on my social Friday – which I shared on this post.


And here are two pages I did on Friday in the back of my book – warming up sketching people on the train, and showing Flory a few watercolour mixes.


And a really messy page testing our sailor pens. Note: most of the time any skipping lines is related to the angle of the nib (and not a faulty pen). It takes time to assess exactly at what angle you are holding the pen while you draw and then to learn to adjust this to suit the nib. More about these pens here.


Back to the front:
I have recently realised I am not doing anything with my photos, so have decided to add a few into my sketchbook as a way of supplementing the story of my life. Not sure what the final solution will be, but am trying out a few ideas.


 Warming up in the front of my book while on the ferry!


A panoramic sketch of the MCA – I hope to come back and discuss the use (or not) of perspective in this sketch.


Oh – haven’t drawn the SOH for a long time!


And finally, a back-of-the-book page that was supposed to be an Infographic for Sabine Wisman’s fun class in Sketchbook Skool Expressing! I drew it in the back as I was testing the W&N pigment markers. Lots of things didn’t go to plan in this spread, but I am happy to record a recent very exciting change to the way I am working. Achieving and maintaining ZERO INBOX on a regular basis has made such a huge positive impact on my work-life. If you are interested, I will share more about this…

Finally…
Is working sequentially is a big deal for you?
Do you allow messy pages in the front of the book, or do you do a few ‘back pages’ like me. 

Thanks in advance – I love hearing how other people work!

 

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