Here’s a tip for students and anyone who’s starting to take art classes. Don’t be tempted by all the expensive materials you see at the art store. You’ll read how Van Gogh favoured a certain sketchbook or Turner used a particular brand of paint. This is marketing romance designed to seduce you; buy what the Masters used and you’ll be on the path to becoming a Master too. Nonsense.
Years ago I was swayed by the Moleskine sketchbook and all of its marketing noise. Did that overpriced sketchbook make me any better at drawing? Just the opposite. I was so embarrassed that I was ruining my precious Moleskine with lousy sketches that I would tear out page after page until there was almost nothing left but the covers!
These days, I carry a small sketch pad & ballpoint pen whenever I’m out in public. My no frills sketch pad is made by Strathmore and cost me $4. The ballpoint was less than 10 cents. A similar size Moleskine sketchbook runs $35 (before taxes) here in Toronto. With that simple pad I enjoy sketching and never worry about how anything turns out.
At the top is a recent sketch made on the subway. He sat right across from me and kept still through 5 subway stops. Nothing quite compares to sketching subjects from life.