Sketchbooks
Painting and drawing outside 'Plein Air' is an important part of my creative process. It provides me with the inspiration for my paintings and prints and acts as a visual diary during my camping and walking trips. It cements the landscapes that I explore into my memory. For me painting outside on location is all about learning how to see. I like to paint in Gouache and make notes to trigger my memory when working back in the studio. Usually I sit down on the ground and paint from a low vantage point. I paint what is directly in front of me but sometimes I move around and paint different view points on the same page merging different aspects of a landscape together.
I make my own sketchbooks using the Coptic Stitch binding method which enables me to choose my own papers. By the time my sketchbooks have travelled many kilometres around the large state of Western Australia they are quite battered. Each painting or sketch is 'just an exercise' and this enables me to fully relax into the process of making art when outside.
