Sketchbook Course – Day 1

I’ve always dreamed of taking Karen Stamper’s Free Up Your Sketchbook and Grow course. I’d known for a while that it was packed with information on how to fill a concertina sketchbook with interesting images, and all of it done with a playful and fun approach.

So, I’ve gone and done it, signed up, ordered a new A5 concertina sketchbook and now I’m working through the lessons.

Karen’s teaching style is considered and practical. Straight to the point and straight to the creating.

On Day One I labelled the new sketchbook and a larger one which was only half filled. I work better in multiplies or I tend to overwork the single page. The lettering feels a bit like GCSE art but I can cover that up later – for now it lets me identify the fronts.

These are a few of the initial pages. I had to force myself to take a, for me, minimal approach and keep checking that I was varying my marks.

To close the day I identified some potential compositions.

I’m really pleased with what I’ve done so far. It’s easy to become overly critical of the images but I know there is lots more altering and extending to be done.