Tag Archives: sketchbooks

Drawing in Prison! – Wigtown Sketchbook First Day

Follow my Kickstarter at www.wigtownsketchbook.com

Today is the first day of the Wigtown Book Festival and I was sent to Dumfries Prison where I spent the afternoon drawing with eight big guys in a small art room! I’ve never been in a prison before and I have to admit that all the security and that locks and heavy doors and bars and razor wire is a bit intimidating. But we had good fun drawing cartoon people and cats and dragons and discussing stuff along the way. I wasn’t allowed a phone or camera, so I have nothing to show for most of today – It was exhausting. There was the drive there and back to add into the mix too.

The festival has started with bagpipes and fireworks and meeting lots of old friends and catching up. This evening I went to see Mairi Hedderwick, who wrote the Katie Morag stories. She showed us her sketchbooks, which was wonderful. She too see her sketchbooks as story storage devices.

Everyone asks about the tools I use when I’m out using my sketchbook. Here’s a video to show you what and how I use them.

The Pentel Aquash Brush is here in the Uk http://bit.ly/PentelAquabrushUK
and here in the US http://bit.ly/PentelAquashBrushUSA

Rotring Tikky Graphic in the UK here http://bit.ly/TikkyGraphicUK
in the USA http://bit.ly/TikkyGraphicUS

The Cotman sketching watercolour set is here in the UK http://amzn.to/1gNpZ8s
and in the US here: http://amzn.to/1gaG6qA

The Seawhite of Brighton a5 travel journal is here in the Uk http://bit.ly/SeawhiteJournalUK

My new sketchbook project

Hey shoobeedoodlers, If you love my sketchbook videos, you are going to love what’s coming up next week.

I am going to be the official Sketchbook Artist at the Wigtown Book Festival in Scotland. I’ll be making sketchbook story videos for ten days, drawing authors, musicians, actors, politicians, comedians… all sorts of interesting people as well as ideas, food, fun, books, and lots of Scottish stuff.

I’m making a signed, limited edition book prints, postcards and exclusive festival sketchbooks which I will be offering as rewards on Kickstarter.

It’s going to exhausting but it’s going to be a load of fun.

Click here to go to my Kickstarter page to find out what it’s all about and see how you can be a part of it. If your coming to Scotland come to the Wigtown Book Festival 25th September – 4th October

If you see me, make sure you say hello. I think my selfie stick is going to be busy!

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How to use a sketchbook

How-to-use-a-sketchbook-smallI did a lot of sketching during my recent trip to Amsterdam. I had a wonderful time. Talking with my friends in the evening, as we discussed what we’d seen that day, I was drawing away happily when I realised that everyone was watching, but they were involved in the drawing and the conversation continued even though I was, i suppose, not 100% concentrating on the conversation. But no one felt I was excluding myself or that they were excluded. We agreed it was a good thing to do for everyone.

So, let go of your inhibitions and draw, your friends will want to be involved helping you remember things and probably wanting to be drawn themselves!