I've developed a habit...I don't think it's a bad one...I think it helps my working practice in general, a bit like a pianist practising scales. Anything that helps break through or keep at bay the 'work avoidance' or 'creative block' thing, that haunts every artist at times has to be a good, surely? A while ago I bought a concertina sketchbook, just because I liked the idea of it. My 'habit', or project, is to draw and paint trees in it as a continuous process.
To cut a long story short I like to walk, when I can, at the end of my working day. It's my time to think about the work I've done and to relax my mind and plan my next move, some of it consciously and some unconsciously (I think). I liken this time to 'the drive home from work'. 'Drive' time is, for many, a cut off point from the challenges of the day, where you engage in the alert whole skill of driving, while weirdly being able to allow your mind to wander, run through ideas and sort out problems. My studio is seven miles from home, too far to walk every day, but at the same time too shorter drive. So my walk is my drive. I take a number of routes, but my favourite one takes me to the footpaths around two lakes at the edge of my village. The lakes are tree lined. In places the tree canopy is dense, so that you walk through tunnels of branches, while in others they are sparse giving a sense of space, but on a good day there are continuous glimpses and flashes of sparkling light on water that I'm drawn to like a magpie.
I'm not sure where the decision to fill the first concertina sketchbook full of trees came from, or to make it a continuous theme, other than my thoughts wandering back to the previous evening's walk if the light had been good. At the beginning, I just picked up my pens, got out the ink and gave it a go.
Each image seemed distinct and separate from the other. This was simply the start of my search for a visual language that would evolve into a kind of diary. I began to start my day, with a sketchbook entry, as 'a way in' to work. Probably the first thing that struck me was that unlike a 'normal' sketchbook, you can view every page together if you wish, by spreading it out flat. This had to be a huge advantage. I soon began to work on two, three and four pages together. I tried different techniques and processes, different angles and viewpoints, in the search for a visual language to represent my response to the subject.
The great thing about a good concertina sketchbook is that is double sided, (each 'page' is in fact two sheets of paper, back to back), with two long strips of paper placed together before being folded, so once you reach the end you can turn it over and come back the other way. As you are not working directly onto the back of a single page, there is a much reduced chance of the image on one side seeping through when using wet media. Another enjoyable challenge is in being able to link images together, to create an almost continuous story. When you start a new subject you can be mindful if you wish to the previous image, continuing a line or starting with a light or dark area that links to where the light or dark ended on the previous page. Once unfolded this gives the sketchbook a kind of continuity or flow that is very pleasing. At the same time you can decide to end a particular string of images and start afresh by making the conscious decision not to match lights and darks or continue a line. Using all your options, once spread out, the sketchbook begins to look like a visual diary, with 'chapters' of trains of thought.
Whilst my books are filled with tonal studies of trees and where I walk, I can see that concertina sketchbooks will lend themselves to all manner of subjects and all manner of drawing media. Landscapes, seascapes, panoramas, people, crowds, flowers, buildings, street scenes, still life subjects....whatever your 'thing' is, you can keep a visual record of observations that can be viewed together and kept together. When you can view drawings and paintings together in chronological order, as you can in a concertina sketchbook, you are able to see the development of an idea or language of mark making as it happens in time. This enables you to compare and contrast the beginning with the end and all stages of the journey, making it a very useful learning tool. I regard this as concertina thinking.
How to make a simple concertina sketchbook from a single sheet of paper
You will need:
A sheet of good quality cartridge paper, A2 or larger
A craft knife or scissors
Paper creaser or bone folder
1 Fold the paper in half lengthways and then fold each end to the middle. Firm each crease with the bone folder, then open it out and flatten it.
2 Fold the paper in half in the opposite direction, then each half to the middle, firming the creases and opening it out to give sixteen pages.
3 Cut from the right side, stopping at the first left fold of the first row. Then cut from the left side, stopping at the last fold on the middle row, then repeat the first cut from the right side to the first fold on the last row.
4 Starting at one end, fold into a concertina, reversing folds as you go.
