Drawings and Sketches

Well, the first step before making any of the work I have posted so far is to sit and produce a whole range of drawn studies to explore colours, textures, patterns, compositions and experiment with media to get the desired effect.

Below are a range of studies from two of my sketchbooks, they are based on a sea and nature theme.The first is a section of three shells, with the image being drawn on top of wood filler to add texture and then painted with watercolour and emulsion:

This image is drawn lightly in pencil and then watercolour washes added on top so the colours blend into one another, with dark shadows added to make the shapes and colours stand out on top:

This is a section of an aloe vera plant drawn in oil pastel using a range of mark making techniques and blending of colours:
This next image is a section of a watercolour study of an octopus, I have slightly abstracted it by just highlighting the suckers and main shape of the legs:

The image below represents folds or movement in the earth, the basic shapes were drawn and then a colour wash added on top, some emulsion was added for texture and the final detail was added by painting a scrim fabric with dark paint and then laying it on top of the study so the paint transfers to the paper:

This is a watercolour study of a pattern found on a tropical fish, I liked the bold nature of the pattern and the bright colours:

I like to work with texture in my work, one good way to do this is to paint using acrylics or emulsions and then scratch detail into the paint with either the end of the paintbrush or a kebab skewer. This image represents cloud formations as seen from space:

This is an ink study of barnacles found in rock pools around my home town of Broadstairs:

This last image is a pencil study of seaweed. I have abstracted it out to show just the main shapes so that I can develop this further into a tapestry, print or painting:

This just a small sample of the many drawings and studies I have done over the years, I will explore other areas of my drawings in another post.