I love a sketchbook

For many, it’s putting paint on canvas that really gets them excited, yet for me, it’s the preliminary work I do in sketchbooks, the simple lines and mark-making, that help shape ideas and contexts for creating larger works…although to be honest, sometimes a simple sketch is as good as it gets.

A day spent along the shore or in the hills gives plenty of opportunity for sketching. Sometimes when I get a bit stuck with a painting, I go back to my sketchbook to remind myself of the joy of not worrying about how something will turn out and make art simply to enjoy the process.

These are a series of sketches from December when the weather was cold, and I certainly didn’t want to hang about for too long.