Moving beyond the sketchbook
Hi there,
How's the weather where you are? Here in Boorloo/Perth the nights and mornings are starting to get cold, and I've been mending holes in shorts before putting them away and wool knits as I bring them out. I like to paint with natural light where possible, but I've bought myself a daylight easel lamp so I can keep making art on cloudy days and in the evenings.
This year I set myself a project to submit a painting to a local community exhibition. The only criteria for this exhibition are that the artist be more than seven years old, and the painting be less than 20x20cm. This is quite small for a painting, but large compared to my Sketchbooks so it was a nice challenge to do something a bit different.
A piece of art intended for hanging on a wall or on a shelf has a very different viewing experience compared to in my sketchbook. Instead of being at that intimate scale, and mostly private to just me leafing through the pages, a more "complete" piece of art on display needs to make sense at a distance, with other things and maybe other art around it. The composition needs more thought to fit nicely within the chosen frame, and framing is a whole other bag of decisions in itself.
I did a few at this scale to find one that I liked enough to submit, and every single time it went through The Ugly Stage where I felt hopelessly inept and like I was attempting something way beyond my skill level. Every single time I managed to make it work, some more successfully than others. For watercolour it helps to use high quality 100% cotton watercolour paper, which I buy in large sheets and cut down to the sizes I need. This paper is more forgiving than the cheaper mixed media paper I tend to use for sketchbooks, although it takes forever to dry.
Although I started sketching and painting purely for fun, it feels good to be taking it a little more seriously. Making more complete artworks is a challenge I think I was finally ready for.
I have still been working in my sketchbooks too - here's another self portrait from Sketchbook 15.
Other things:
- I completed Sketchbook 14 and Sketchbook 15 (quick ones with only a few spreads).
- My Books page has been updated with what I've been reading so far in 2026.
- This video on how to mend small holes in knitwear has helped me keep a merino sweater looking good for another winter.
- I got hooked on Portrait Artist of the Year Australia (on ABC iView). Such a wholesome show and incredible art.
You might also be interested in what I’m up to Now.