Sketching
To Make a Small A7 sketch Book
1. Take a piece of white A4 paper with the narrow side to the top. Fold it top to bottom and crease it carefully to A5. Fold it again top to bottom to form a long narrow strip. This will give 8 pages to the final book. If you want a thicker book, fold another sheet in the same way. Put one inside the other and it will give a folded strip like figure 1.
Figure 1
The paper folded into a narrow strip 210 mm x 74mm
2. Fold the paper sideways once to form an A7 book and sew it with a figure of eight stitch.
The paper folded sideways and sewn
3. The book will need a stiff support at the back. Cut a piece of card larger than the A7 book and a cover paper wider and long enough to wrap round the end of the book.
The grey cardboard back and the coloured cover paper both cut oversize.
The cardboard back support pasted to the last sheet of paper
and the cover paper pasted on to wrap round the end.
Then trim the sketch pad on three sides
The finished sketchbook
The sketchbook in use.
The small finger of the drawing hand rests on the small finger of the other hand. This allows very accurate sketching even in windy, unfavourable conditions as one hand supports the other.
 |
Sketch of a narrow façade, only 14 feet (4.3 metres) wide, in Chancery Lane, London. I think it may have been designed by Thomas Hardy, the author, between 1862 and 1867, when he was working as a gothic draughtsman, for the architect William Blomfield. The building has been restored and looks as it ever did. |
A parapet roof with a tablet
Imagine this roof in red brick with a white Portland Stone pediment and tablet.
Ring for the servants
Landscape from Muswell Hill
Tree Sketches
The following sketches of trees may be of use to teachers when taking children on nature walks. I used them for years but I cannot remember if I drew them originally. If I did not and anyone recognises them, I shall be happy to acknowledge the artist.
Clissold Park had a splendid collection of trees, so a set of drawings like this could be a class project. There would be a different species for each child and still new ones for next year.
A Tree Stump
St Mary's Church, bombed 1940
Licoln Court, Bethune Road
from across the reservoir
Corner of Albion Road and Church Street
Blacksmith's Shop in Church Street, 1889
William Patten School was built on the site next door in 1892 as Church Street School
John Constable, from his 1817 sketch book
The actual size is 8 cms x 4.3 cms.
Local Sketches like this, in black and white and therefore easily photocopies, could be collected on to a disk to enliven history disks.
These are typical sketches from "The Growth of St Marlebone and Paddington"
and the Growth of Camden Town", both by Jack Whitehead.