Collins 30-Minute Painting. Alwyn Crawshaw

      

      ▲ From My Studio, 21 x 28 cm (8/½ x 11 in)

      Sketching

      Alwyn Crawshaw

Copyright

      First published in 2008 by

      Collins, an imprint of

      HarperCollinsPublishers

      1 London Bridge Street

      London SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      Collins is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Limited.

      © Alwyn Crawshaw 2008

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      Editor: Diana Vowles

      Designer: Kathryn Gammon

      Alwyn Crawshaw asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

      Source ISBN 9780007259380

      Ebook Edition © OCTOBER 2018 ISBN: 9780008325794

      Version: 2018-12-05

      HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.

Dedication

      I would like to dedicate this book to June, my wife, for her continual support with all my artistic endeavours.

      Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Introduction

Essential equipment

Pencil techniques

Watercolour techniques

       Sketching indoors

       Simplifying your subject

       Sketching outdoors

       Holiday sketching

       Using holiday photos

       Further information

       Acknowledgements

       About the Author

       About the Publisher

INTRODUCTION

      ▲ Thurne Dyke

      (detail, actual size in the print edition only.)

      The most important part of this location sketch was the drawing, as it is a complicated scene with lots of activity.

       Sketching is the most uplifting and enjoyable way to paint and it is a great teacher, whether you are working with pencil or paint, outdoors or indoors. There is no pressure on you, as you are not painting for an exhibition or to please your friends or family; you are sketching for your own enjoyment. Nevertheless, you can go on to show your sketches in exhibitions.

       Because of the relaxed way in which they are done, sketches can often have more energy and dynamism than a highly finished work, and indeed some of the Old Masters’ sketches are actually preferred to their exhibition paintings.

      What is a sketch?

      There are three different types of sketches: an information sketch, done solely to collect information or detail; an atmosphere sketch, where the aim is to record the atmosphere and mood for a finished painting; and an enjoyment sketch, done usually on location simply to enjoy the experience. It is the enjoyment sketch that I will concentrate on in this book – the information and atmosphere sketches will develop as you gain experience.

      ▲ Spanish Truck

      This information sketch was done with a 2B pencil so that I could quickly put in shading to make the truck look three-dimensional and also add some detail.

      30-minute sketches

      Why a limit of 30 minutes? First, it will stop you fiddling and looking for something extra to do in your sketch, which can lose the spontaneity of it – a good sketch can be spoilt by overworking. Secondly, it will teach you how to observe your subject.

      Many of the sketches I have done in the book have taken about 30 minutes, though some have taken a little less. Practise the techniques I describe for as long as you need