Art By Boon - Sketchbook and plein air painting.

Sketchbook Work and plein air painting

I am passionate about outdoor sketching or plein air as some like to call it. I feel it is crucial to my development and never fails to re charge my creative batteries. There is nothing better than to be on site with my fellow artists and friends recording from nature itself. I also take my camera along to capture scenes that I dont have time to sketch as I know the photo reference will come in very useful over the winter months when it is too cold or wet and I am forced to work in my studio.

The painting and sketches I produce when on location are often spontaneous and fresh. Simplification is my aim, only recording the essential elements and eliminating unwanted clutter to ensure a pleasing well-balanced composition whatever the subject. These sketches are invaluable to me, as I will produce most of my finished painting from them. I now have many sketchbooks that are full of ideas and are a great starting point for future paintings. I take great joy in looking through my sketchbooks, as they are a lovely reminder of the day. For me they are better than any photograph I could take.

When sketching my preferred methods are:

Pencil, 3b/4b
Derwent Graphitint Pencils
Charcoal and felt tip pen.
One colour watercolour
Full colour watercolour paintings.

I choose the medium I use carefully, If I dont have long or the weather looks like it may change for the worse I will use pencil or a Graphitint watercolour pencil as I can record details quickly using either and will take a photograph as a extra record.

If I have more time I will paint, sometimes I will use just one colour usually Paynes Grey. This allows me to splash the paint around and capture those all important tonal values within a scene, I may also make colour reference notes or record my personal thoughts and feelings of the scene on to the finished sketch/painting.

Please feel free to browse through my on line sketch book, you will be able to view some of the finished paintings I produced from these sketches in the gallery.

A selection of work from my sketchbook