Lost & Found

I was always taught not to be precious about drawing, that it's the knowledge that counts & the drawing is merely a by-product of learning. That said it's heart-breaking to lose a sketchbook! I recently lost mine while on a day trip drawing in Monaco. I wouldn't mind so much if it was a book full of gesture drawings but this one was dear to me because it's full of the special places I've discovered while living in France . . .


I re-traced my steps the following day to no avail-it could've been anywhere between Nice & Monaco by way of the self-employment office, tram, car-park, art museum, tropical gardens. I phoned up the places I'd visited that day too but no-one had found a 'carnet de croquis'.



I tried not to let it get me down, forget about it but it totally knocked my motivation to get out & draw. I figured what's the point of making drawings or paintings if I'm going to lose them! Worse thing was I couldn't for the life of me recall where I last had it. . .


Eventually Raja called the 'objets trouvés' office in Monaco for me & they had it! They didn't say where it was found but I figure I left it on a bench at the port while waiting for an exhibition to open. The book was intact but looked a bit rougher around the edges, weathered, a bit salty! It had been on an adventure of its own & now we were reunited!



The lesson learnt is always put my name & number in my sketchbooks. It must be the nightmare of all artists & I was lucky to get it back. Full marks to the decent citizens of Monaco!



These are all drawings from the book that I haven't posted before & I hope to fill it with more like these. (Previous sketches here ,here & here.)

Private joke

BEN-E-LUX is a combination frites/crepe/waffle maker & vacuum cleaner. Deluxe model available from BUY'N'BIG.

Quick sketching-

Here are some of my latest gesture sketches made from the café terrace as tourists & locals mill around.

They're all 10 second quickies. I'm looking to capture gesture, expression & attitude through body shapes, posture & clothing. If I'm lucky sometimes I manage to capture character & that's when they're most successful I think, that's when the drawings have some life.