The forgotten book

Many years ago, I think it was in 1995, I bought a pile of antique accounts books, for no other reason than that they were beautiful and going for a silly price. They were all unused and in tip top condition, except for this one, which is an old photo album. As it was in a pretty battered state, I decided to save it for sketching.  

It's remained blank for twenty two years and been carted about with the rest of my 'stuff' through five households. However, I'm trying to put aside a bit of time for sketching, so last weekend I hauled it out of the attic and rummaged in my reference library. Sometimes books are better than endlessly trawling through Pinterest. i don't know why this is so - maybe the limitations concentrate the mind. 

I'm a bit rusty so it took me about three hours to get a page of warm ups and then ideas. One day, when I can afford to spend more time on things like this, I might turn a few into paintings. at the moment it remains a bit of a hobby.

Ancient History

After another week of beating down the backbone of a deadline, I found myself idly flipping through an old sketch book, from my college days. I seem to remember Andy gave me this little old book, when it was blank- we both liked working in vintage accounts books. He stamped the boat logo on the front, from a handcut stamp. We had started living together in the second year of our design/illustration BA and were fired up creatively.This is now ancient history, 1992 - 1993.

I crammed this little book (8 inches wide and four inches tall) with all the things which interested me - things found in the street, receipts and tickets, packaging, stickers - every graphically or typographically curious thing I discovered was stapled into this - and other books. The teapot illustation below is a photocopy of an illustration by Natasha. She was in our year and a friend, also an illustrator. Now she bakes the most amazing cakes - which are often illustrated, in edible inks, with her gorgeous work. I must have pinched or begged this copy from her - little did we know then how life would pan out, or that one Christmas she would send me some of her sublime gingerbread men.

But I also filled it with tiny sketches in dip pen and watercolour - my *chalky* paints in my student box being the despair of one of my tutors.

Here, lovingly preserved at the top of the page, is a little shopping list which Andy must have written one day - 'Dog, New knee, Haircut'. I am sure he got the haircut, but his knee still plays up.

These are pre-scribbles and colour studies for a lino-cut I did one summer, when we were allowed to play in the print room. There are inspirational magazine cut outs and a tiny scrap of quilting fabric - all valuable planning I learned, which I still use today.

...and here is one of the finished three colour prints, a bit rough and ready and slightly off registration.

I seem to have had a *thing* with imaginary fishes -

- though I also studied photos of real ones, to capture the essence of *fish* in my head. One of the regular things people say is 'oh I wish I could draw things straight out of my head'. But everything I draw has some basis, originally, in studies from life.

Andy hijacked my book and stamped his territory with one of his scary woodcuts. Not a very happy one. Hormones.

Mind you, I wasn't much better sometimes...

I also used my book for tedious lecture notes and here, a silk petal sprayed with a 'Tresor' sample. It used to be my favourite perfume, though I didn't have any, it was way beyond our student budgets. I popped into shops to have a little spray when we were in town. A few years later Andy bought me my own bottle, which I still have now. I didn't know then that perfume went 'off' and wish I hadn't been so frugal with it, but had just used it and enjoyed it.

I am still inspired by many of the things captured in this memory book - much of it is seeped into my imagination and it leaks out when I create. Although a lot of my themes were abandoned over the years, as I developed as an illustrator and curbed my whimsy to become more commercial, things have swung full circle and now I am able to indulge myself again with my latest jobs - and this time I get paid!

In the final year I was mixing textiles, embroidery and letterpress into my work. A bit radical in those days, as it was just on the cusp of the digital age and scanners were new, voodoo machines which only a few could use - or afford. Reproducing collaged artwork was usually too expensive to contemplate for book illustration Here is an old receipt from King's Fabrics. which seems remarkably cheap compared to today's fabric prices.

I found that I loved making detailed thumbnails for projects - and still do. I do so much planning in my tiny scribbles that things are usually sorted out there and then, so that the blow up is just a formality, as I 'know' where everything goes in my head.

How I enjoyed dip-penning imaginary figures - usually on their own, or at the most, two. Often by a sickle moon. No change there then.

There are one or two James Reeve poems in there, with my feeble attempts to illustrate them. Many of his books were, of course, illustrated by my all time hero, Edward Ardizzone.

A book of four first class stamps for a pound! Watercolour paper samples and fake tattoos.

I was also constantly drawing little houses, I think I drew these from a television programme - I still constantly draw little houses. I don't think I will stop, even when I finally have my very own.

This will be a dull page, unless you are the one or two people who were at this college with me - my old Polytechnic library card, fixed in my book after we graduated.

The lump of card seen poking out of the sides is a fat cat from a fruit box - an excellent source of graphic images, fruit crates and stickers. Remind me to show you my fruit sticker collection some day...

No, not that one-

- the other one is far larger - in my BIG sketchbook!

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