Holiday postcard exchange

My first postcard was inspired by the very hot weather and intense sunlight we were experiencing!

My second postcard was just a bit of fun combining images from an old book a magazine and the original postcard.

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Jean and Meryl September 2018

Meryl sent a double page back for August – I love the bold colours and shapes and the exploration into another aspect of space imagery. In September I sent a double page back. I think this will help us stay within the sketchbook for this year. I love sci fi and I’ve not really explored the imagery and words related to it in art before so this sketchbook experience is proving new and enjoyable.

Cherrie and Jean August 2018

Cherrie retuned me some inspiring pages – looking at Cherrie’s pages has made me start looking out for used postage stamps to use in my work. She took up the people imagery from what we’d been sent out in the monthly envelopes as well.

Cherrie had begun to use an area where there had been an ink spillage and I continued with this making a pattern to go into and over it.

We’re alos beginning to encounter the holes showing through to the other side that we put in in the early months of using the sketchbook.

I finished with a pattern double page using book pages, while acrylic, Intense pencils, watercolour, pen and collage. Mine are much more rigid than Cherrie’s pages. I wonder if these squares were influenced by my working up towards September’s John Vernon Lord square inch a day drawing challenge run by the House of Illustration.

Jean and Meryl July 2018

I’m enjoying the space imagery that Meryl sends back each month. Its really a whole new area for me.

I was able to pick up on some of her story this timed it lead me to the page below – which is perhaps one of my favourites that I’ve ever made.

 

Cherrie and Jean June 2018

Cherrie had made some wonderful additions in May and we’ve moved to the other side of the concertina pages!

Below is the joining page, I like the way the landscape and buildings continue and develop here!

Unfortunately I let time run out and rather rushed my pages in June! I tried this green experiment below and stamped some leaves onto it using a stamp pad and some leaves that I carved into lino. Unfortunately the ink would not dry so I had stick on top so that I could return the sketchbook. The surface was quite shiny and gluey so it wasn’t quite right for that type fink perhaps.

Just before I sent the sketchbook back I had a collage idea using some of the inspirations we were sent a few months ago and ended this month’s pages with this, at the last minute.

Jean and Meryl May 2018

I completely forget to photograph the pages before sending May’s pages off to Meryl so this blog post is a bit late! I like the way we’re continuing to work into each other’s pages using collage and drawing. In this page I had left the map on the lefthand page when I sent the sketchbook back.

On the page below Meryl added the robot and marbling leaving space for me to add the planets and background.

The page on the left was Meryl’s last one for April so I picked it up from there, continuing with our sci fi themes. Seeing Meryl’s use of marbling I’ve been trying that out too.

On the next page I left a starry sky landscape along the bottom as a join between May and June…

Cherrie and Jean April 2018

A late blog post to catch up with April’s sketchbook circle pages. Firstly below are Cherrie’s from March. I love how the colours and collage materials create a connection between our pages.

I like this collage train ticket – reminds me that if I run out I can make my own!

This is the joining point for our pages, where flow from March into April using the landscape from Cherrie’s last page, into a landscape of mine and then some mark making using my Inktense pencils.

I visited Copenhagen during this month and went to an exhibition at Nordatlantens Brygge. One of the artist’s work caught my eye because of the intensity of colour and pattern and this was my memory of it.

I finished with a collage using some tickets and other collage materials – quite subdued after the last few pages of intense pink!

Jean and Meryl March 2018

When I got the sketchbook back in March I was surprised and interested by Meryl’s additions which were unlike any others I’d had so far.

Meryl had added some graphic novel like pages set in space – I context i often use in collage, from interest and because I have a pile of Sky at night magazines. The three photos below are of the pages hen they arrived.

While I decided what to do on my pages I couldn’t resist adding some colour to Meryl’s pages.

Meryl had left space on her last page for me to continue. I was luck yo to sport some superhero wrapping paper in Tesco who came in handy, along with my trusty Sky at night magazines, wash tape and contrasting with this watercolour. 

I like the idea that Meryl has begun of a loose storyline and I left the next page for her to continue on with. 

Meryl added this great PicCollage of the pages:

and it was put into the title picture of the Facebook group!

Cherrie and Jean – February 2018

Receiving a sketchbook for the first time from a new sketchbook circle partner is always a bog step. This time I opened the envelope and found a concertina sketchbook from Cherrie.

Working a in a concertina sketchbook provides all sorts of interesting opportunities for continuity and using both sides of the pages. Cherrie has already begun cutting holes into the pages.

I love the pages Cherrie has opened our sketchbook with – they have lots of the elements that I like – text, pattern, images, layers, ink, collage and printmaking.

I’ve tried to create some continuity between Cherrie’s last page and my first page y continuing the linear patterns and the colour scheme. I used some wax resist, collage and drawing too. I’ve also punched through the aged and added collage that can be seen through – hopefully we can incorporate these into the art on the back pages when we arrive at them.

I then added a different page using train tickets – half drawn onto and half not. I hope this hasn’t broken the flow too much.

I then continued with the layered theme from earlier pages using collage and adding some Gelli plate mono printing straight onto the pages – always a huge risk and all the more so when the sketchbooks pages are continuously joined!

I hope Cherrie was able to make something of the pages this month. After I had posted the sketchbook I continued to use the inspiration from the pages in my daily drawing leading me to some watercolours with additional drawing that I hope to take into printing.

Jean and Meryl – January 2018

Starting a new circle always involves a big decision – choosing the sketchbook to exchange across the year. This year I found the inside of sketchbook made from Khadi paper in Paperchase and added my own cover. The paper is a nice texture and I hope there are enough pages to last throughout 2018 in my year long exchange with Meryl.

I made some pages using collage, watercolour and drawing just to get the exchange going. Starting an empty sketchbook might be the most challenging part of the circle because as we exchange there are always pages to look back on and take ideas and inspiration from.

I’m eagerly awaiting a sketchbook from my other sketchbook circle partner, Cherrie – I’ve a seen a glimpse of a page in the Facebook group.