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Making use of a sketch pad .
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Message
Posted
I wasn’t sure what to put for the heading , so settled for the title I’ve used .
I have accumulated quite a few small sketch’s that are on A5 &A6 loose paper , I’ve kept then in a plastic folder and then a index card box but wasn’t happy with either storage system. I then remembered that when I was studying Victorian watercolour that they used to paste small paintings into a book and use it very much lime we would a photograph album. This was to show friends etc the places they had visited on the grand tour and of course as a memento of that tour. My daughter brought name a leather bound sketch pad from France some years ago , unfortunately the hand made paper is so soft that anything shorter than a finger tip rips the paper,. It won’t hold a wash as it is to porous and ink shows through, I’ve been wondering what to do with it , now I know . I’ve pasted some of the sketches I particularly liked into the pad , my daughter thinks it’s a great idea and likes the small sketches particularly on the toned paper.
What and how do you store your sketch’s that are not drawn in a pad .
Posted
You’ve made good use of this Paul, they look good!
All my sketches will have come from a pad of sorts, as I rarely, if ever, use loose sheets… too much hassle cutting them down to manageable size.
So, a good proportion of my loose sketches will simply be kept as loose pages within the pad they came from… if that makes sense! It isn’t ideal I accept that…
I also use box files, quite handy for small stuff and keeps them safe and clean.
A lot of my mounted drawings are kept in Banker’s Boxes, I’ve got a dozen at least - (boxes not drawings), keeps them clean and nicely stored, easy to access should I need to get at them for say framing etc.
All, or most of my mounted drawings/pen & wash stuff etc are ready for framing… they’re positioned on a backboard with a mount which is taped to the top edge… like an envelope I suppose.
I do have a bevelled mount cutter, and occasionally cut my own, but generally buy my mounts in bulk, including back boards, much less hassle and not particularly expensive!…
I’ve got the supplier name should anyone want it.
Edited
by Alan Bickley
Posted
😂 I like your idea George! I use a similar filing method myself, sketchbooks stacked in a corner, an old Victorian chest of drawers for ‘chucking’ loose ‘stuff’ in, and oil paintings stacked against any wall space I can find.
I like what you have done with your loose sketches Paul, they look great in the book.
Posted
Come to my chaotic flat, and be in danger of knocking over piles of sketchbooks, dating back to Lord knows when; I keep them all to judge my progress (and regression) but not in very good order: there's one pile on an office chair; another crammed into the cupboard part of a bureau, watercolours rather better protected in the drawers of another bureau, and I fear to open the doors of the sideboard, lest I be killed in an avalanche.
My landlord - who has little moral authority here, since he's as bad as I am (and besides .... I have the dirt on him, har-de-har-har) tells me I should de-clutter, but spoils the effect by saying "but you must keep your drawings"; well, as the drawings are principally responsible for the clutter... that doesn't get us far. I hadn't thought of box files.... might be an answer, though as my shelves are full of books........ I think I'm just going to have to live with unstructured storage until they carry me out feet first: only pity those who have to clean up after me.
Posted
The box files aren’t particularly large Robert, but ideal for smaller individual or loose stuff.
My sketchbooks are kept on one of my bookshelves, and I have a lot…sketchbooks that is, but I do often refer back to them for information/inspiration.
One of my favourites is by Two Rivers Paper Mill which has Turner Blue handmade paper inside, and holds some of my better work - that’s destined for one of our members eventually.
My larger drawings, many hundreds of them life drawings from college days, plus larger watercolours, are kept neat and tidy in numerous art portfolios - from A4 up to A1…
Far too much stuff of course, the majority of it destined for the skip I suspect eventually… that won’t worry me!
Posted
The little room where I paint gets smaller and smaller as my stuff is stacked up against the walls ( mdf usually but also canvases and frames). Drawings and sketches are in books, in an IKEA tall set of drawers bought specially ( on the landing outside the room). Further paintings are in the roof space and I have also laid claim to part of a spare bedroom. A large art “ briefcase” holds delicate stuff ( charcoal sketches etc). I’m constantly tidying up….there’s a sort of method to it all, I have a fair idea where I can find things…..and yes, a large skip will come into play when I pop off ( though not too soon I hope!).
Posted
I had a clear out at the end of last year, so many small folders etc stacked here and there , I have one A1 art portfolio thst I was given over thirty years ago, looks better bit still hold stuff . I was quite ruthless and put a lot of it in the bin , unusual for me to bin sketches etc but needed to declutter , I bought sone of those under bed storage containers .
They hold a lot, I have one for my finished watercolours, that I particularly like these are in a white a A3 mount and stored in a plastic sleeve keeps them clean and stops them getting bent or torn, helps when showing then as no one touches the actual paper, sold a few as they we’re already to frame . I have a box for my sketchbooks that are in use , several of them ranging from A3 to A6 but some are non standard sizes . Box for storing new watercolour pads and paper and similar for sketchbooks and any loose paper, sometimes this is watercolour paper that I’ve been bought but it’s not thick enough .
All go under the bed in the spare room where I tend to work in the winter month , summer is spent working in the shed , or as it’s know The Shedio, usually only keep working materials in there . It’s surprising how much equipment we have accumulated over the years , why I should need two easels, both were given to me , at different times, can’t remember the last time I used them.
Posted
Great to hear how most of us manage without a formal studio. I like the sticking into a book idea, Paul, it also provides the look of a mount.
I 'had' a dining room, in my terraced house, I never knocked through the dividing wall as did the neighbours (I think my house is holding the block up - its coming up to its century in a few years). But the dining room has a WSW outlook and french doors, so its now my painting room. (It's a great excuse for not inviting people for dinner) Currently most of my paper based work is in large plastic portfolios, but I have nowhere near the volume everyone else in this thread has. My oils are still in plate racks - boards not canvases yet - on the dining table. I did have a clear out last week. I threw out one acrylic in the end. However, the process is good. Gives an opportunity to look at your development.
Posted
Routing through you work is a good way to spend a dismal day when you don’t feel like painting or doing anything else.
I found that I had some work going back so far I can’t remember exactly when I did it , it was interesting as sone I much prefer to quit a lot of the work I sometimes do know . It also helps you to see what has changed and how your work has progressed and developed into your current style, also reminding me of some important basics that I took for granted these days. There was some rubbish in there as well but I thought it was good at the time it’s only because I paint different that they appear rubbish now sad in some ways that I think that . I did pick out a few thst I thought were really good and certainly worth keeping hold of , but I suppose ninety nine percent of them will hit the bin once my toes are curled up for good .I’m sure given a chance my second youngest granddaughter will sell then online for pocket money as she does he old cloths etc , hope she does and gets a decent price.
Posted
Alan, you mentioned that you buy your mounts in bulk - I’d be interested to know which supplier you use. I do have a good quality mount cutter but find it difficult to use and usually end up wasting mount card, so buying would be a better option, although I probably wouldn’t want to buy in quite the same quantities that you probably do.
Edited
by Jenny Harris
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