Denis Pickles

Great little tale there Denis and a great little pen and watercolour painting of Mousehole, which is a super scenic place for some art of course, you have certainly done it justice here!

This is just fantastic. I too am trying to keep a little sketchbook as a sort of visual diary but my efforts are nowhere near as appealing as yours. Absolutely lovely, such freshness and so full of life. Better than any photo memory! Simon

Really lovely pen and wash - so fresh and lively.

Do like this Dennis - great reminder.

As Simon has said. I have also tried and failed to keep a sketchbook. My ambitions would be to have one like yours, full of colour and vigour. Just out of interest, what size is the sketchbook. I find I like A4, but that sort of negates "little sketchbook" being carried about!

This is great. My sketchbooks are not nearly as detailed.

Didn't really expect so many favourable comments, but thanks anyway. I have been keeping sketch books [or 'pictorial journals' as one interested spectator in the USA called them] for about twenty years now. I find that they give me great pleasure and as Simon says, they provide me with far better memories than a photo. I carry my A4 sketch book round with me in a little bag which slips over my shoulder. It contains my pens and a tiny watercolour box together with water and a couple of brushes - more than enough for most subjects I decide to tackle. This last weekend I was in Oxford for the express purpose of looking at and sketching the Radcliffe Camera. It didn't go too well! The building was half covered in scaffolding which put me off and then the loss of a lens from my glasses handicapped me somewhat. The building is difficult to draw in any case without seeing it double. The end result wasn't brilliant, but who cares - the sketch book is mine, no one elses' and I'm not out to produce master pieces every time I put pen to paper.

Oh dear Denis, got to sympathise with you there as have quite a few people I would think, disappointing to find the whole point of your trip covered in scaffolding, these days it does tend to be all or nothing with repairs to buildings, and then to top it all you couldn't see it properly either! Never mind there is always another day and the works you put on here are so full of interest and good they make up for any failures

Thank you for half an hour of viewing your sketchbooks. They are absolutely beautiful. Diana

Terrific sketchbook paintings, Denis! Great work!