OPEN SKETCHBOOKS Autumn Selection Part 2
John Shelley invites a second end of year browse through the pages of our illustrator member sketchbooks.
The weather is getting colder, but the changing seasons bring fresh inspiration to the pages of our member's sketchbooks!
Bridget Strevens-Marzo
Some ‘warm-up' window view watercolour sketches done at different times of day - and slightly different angles.
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| 10:30. |
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| Dusk @bridgimagephotos |
Josie Macey
Some watercolour sketches of a dragon character I am creating for a short story. I tried out different colour palettes on my dragon to choose both its colours And the colours of it’s environment.
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| @josie.macey |
Nicky Wilson
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| Just trying to work out the beginning of an idea. @nickyillustrates |
Paul Morton
I'm developing some wolf and bear characters for another early reader adventure story.
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| @hot.frog |
Salomey Doku
I have been using #Inktober as a way to get back into traditional media after a long stint using only digital tools to create art. It has been wonderfully refreshing, not to mention a relief for my eyes! I forgot how lovely it feels to sketch on real paper, using real pens and ink, and having a tangible "reward" at the end. I have even started using my old dip pen again! I am already seeing an improvement in my control of ink and am starting to feel brave enough to try pairing ink with watercolours.
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| @sa.dokuillo |
Sandy Thornton
I mainly use my sketchbook to create happy accidents and reconnect with my art materials. Here I was playing around with overlaying Stabillo crayon and watercolour with a Japanese ink brush pen. I love these small Talens sketchbooks as they are cheap, portable and the paper withstands mixed media.
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| @sandyillustrates |
Tonka Uzu
These were all drawn during a series of children's literacy workshops called Story Space back in June/July 2021 and then developed in the book Finding Our Story which has just come out and is displayed at Sutapa Biswas' exhibition Lumen in Kettle's Yard, Cambridge until January.
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| @tonkauzu |
Many thanks to the illustrators who sent in work! Words & Pictures begins a new chapter next year, with a new team at the fore. Open Sketchbooks has been an absolute pleasure to oversee and curate, my deepest thanks to all the illustrators who have participated, I'm sure you'll join me in looking forward to it's return next Spring.
John Shelley is the Illustration Features Editor of Words & Pictures and the illustrator of over 50 books for children, most recently The Boy in the Jam Jar for Bloomsbury. He's a five times nominee for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. johnshelley.com Instagram: @StudioNib Twitter: @StudioNib
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