Sketchbook Tour - Stories from the Sea
I’m quite proud of this particular sketchbook it’s a bit of a landmark that marks a bit of a change in direction for me. Rather than sketching what I see and playing with that, I’ve tried to be much more abstract. This one's all about the shapes, baby.
I started the sketchbook with a grand title of 'Stories from the Sea' to record shapes and colours of the North Sea Coast that I see every day. I’ve been using paper stencils and bolder colours because my aim is to use these shapes as inspiration for my screenprints. The stencils I play with are made with torn paper and coffee filter paper.
My palette starts with the muted local colours, then switches up a gear in response to my visit to the Andy Warhol textiles exhibition at the Dovecot studios in Edinburgh. I was really bowled over by the bold 50s and 60s colour combinations that he used - loads of great primary colours with purples, pinks and even browns. They are colours I don’t normally use, but I decided to try a new approach, so there are some pages just filled with reds, orange and bright blues - which I have to say I really enjoyed doing.
This sketchbook is one made by Pith Supply in Berwick, and it’s the best sketchbook I’ve ever used in terms of keeping its shape when you just throw everything at it.