Katie Moody is a combined media artist based mostly on the South Coast of England. Her work takes a joyful method to absorbing the world round her, favouring playfulness and experimentation over the pursuit of perfection. On this article, she discusses the vastly vital function sketchbooks play for her as an artist, the broad vary of supplies she makes use of, and the way her intuitive method results in completed items inside her sketchbooks.
Contained in the Sketchbook of Katie Moody
I’ve so many sketchbooks on the go! I fill all of them with a wide range of topics fairly than ones with particular themes, although I do love the concept of seeing the development extra clearly that means. They’re very combined, and I attain for them based mostly on media and measurement. There are some I do know work higher with moist mediums, with paper that holds as much as the quantity of layers and supplies I throw at it. Others work higher with thicker paint layers or dry supplies.
Most have clean hot-pressed paper, which I like for brush pens. Generally I simply need one thing small that’s simple to hold once I’m drawing exterior. I’ve many half-filled sketchbooks, however they’ll get completed ultimately. I’m comfortable with that! I’m not racing to fill my sketchbooks, and I like having the ability to decide and select the sketchbook I’ll work in on that day.
Due to my love for combined media, most of my sketchbooks must have paper that may deal with rather a lot. For combined media, I like the Strathmore 500 Sequence Blended Media Sketchbook with a gentle cowl. And for watercolour work, I’ve been actually having fun with the Hahnemühle Watercolour E-book. Each of those work brilliantly with loads of layers and don’t have an excessive amount of tooth. I favor a comparatively clean paper inventory as a result of I like so as to add pencil and particulars utilizing Caran d’Ache Neocolor on prime. And I like having clean linework.
The Strathmore sketchbook is 8.5 x 11 in, so is one in every of my bigger sketchbooks, however my most used and liked measurement is A5. It looks like simply the correct amount of paper to fill with out having a lot white house, and might simply be damaged down into panels for sooner work, too.
For my common day-to-day sketchbook, I like the A5 Royal Talens Artwork Creation Sketchbooks. I’ve been utilizing them for years, and I like how inexpensive they’re. It may be daunting when creating in an costly sketchbook, so low cost and cheerful actually takes that stress away.
It holds an enormous quantity of media, together with gouache and brush pens, however watercolour needs to be reserved for my different sketchbooks. It was the sketchbook I used rather a lot throughout my every day artwork challenges, and they also really feel very particular to me!
As a mixed-media artist, my provide listing is fairly limitless! It’s a blessing and a curse as a result of I like enjoying and experimenting with all my provides, however generally it may be exhausting to decide on. I discover a whole lot of pleasure in combining totally different mediums, altering the order of my layers, and simply experimenting with many provides to create good textures. Some purists don’t like this method, however to me, the one means to make use of an artwork provide ‘flawed’ is by not utilizing it in any respect!
I like watercolour, gouache, or acrylic ink as my base if I’m utilizing moist media, and these are sometimes adopted with colored pencil and Caran d’Ache Neocolor II particulars on prime. If I wish to use dry media, I like Tombow and Ecoline brush pens for my base, once more adopted by pencils (my favourites are Caran d’Ache Luminance). Lately, I’ve additionally liked utilizing extra strains in my work, and a Sailor Fude De Mannen fountain pen has been my go-to. The angled nib creates such a beautiful variation of line and permits me to be actually playful and maintain my linework energetic.
I’m a little bit of a magpie with artwork provides, however all of them get used. Generally issues will not be touched shortly as a result of I’m exploring a selected medium, however I do know that they’ll all come again round. I believe it’s actually vital to comply with these sparks of curiosity, to drag the thread of experimentation and simply have enjoyable with it in your sketchbook pages.
I exploit my sketchbooks most days, although I don’t create artwork every single day. My sketchbooks are my closing work – generally I’ll create originals on unfastened paper, however 90% of my work is in sketchbooks. Many artists use them for preliminary work, and there’s usually debate on my YouTube channel if sketchbooks shouldn’t be for ‘completed’ artwork. In my view, you are able to do each, however there isn’t any flawed means to make use of them!
I’ve had sketchbooks stuffed with thumbnails, notes, and sketches, however more often than not my pages are stuffed with closing artwork. I work quick and might fill spreads rapidly, however it’s all nearly having fun with the method for me. It’s much less concerning the finish outcome and creating what I deem as ‘good’ artwork, and extra concerning the pleasure I had in placing pencil to paper.
It’s why sketchbooks are so vital to me, as a result of they’re what makes me an artist. I found my model by filling web page after web page, exploring so many alternative topics and making an attempt numerous mediums. I’m not restricted by the web page, it encourages me to create, and if one thing goes flawed, that’s okay too! I can simply flip the web page and check out once more. All my errors and ‘unhealthy’ artwork result in my good items.
My sketches are my completed works, and so fairly than utilizing my sketchbooks to create particular items, I let all of them overlap and feed into my subsequent web page. A particular color palette or a mix of provides will lead into extra explorations and extra concepts, fairly than deliberate, completed artwork.
My favorite factor about working on this means is that you could see the development and development. From that very first unfold proper to the final, there’s growth there. It’s not usually noticeable while we create, however as you fill every unfold, there’s going to be studying. I’ve learnt so many issues by filling my sketchbooks, comparable to model desire, but additionally about myself as an artist. There’s pleasure in letting go and creating for me, doing what I wish to do on this little guide that’s simply my very own.
If you wish to take advantage of your sketchbooks, I extremely advocate private artwork challenges, whether or not that’s creating every single day (and even each different day), or specializing in a selected topic that evokes you, or a medium to discover. It’s scary at first, however sketchbooks are what you make them, they usually don’t have to be stuffed with stunning masterpieces. You solely want 5 or 10 minutes a day for fast doodles, scribbles or concepts. Timers are an enormous a part of my apply and permit me to not overthink, and are an enormous think about my very own every day artwork challenges. I’ve completed just a few, from a year-long one to 30 and 100 days, they usually had been all monumental in my development as an artist. It stopped me from being scared to create, it held me accountable and helped me develop my neighborhood too.
If you happen to’re frightened about it, simply begin. I promise that opening the web page and placing down the primary mark is the toughest half – when you’ve completed that, you’re away! Have enjoyable and simply take pleasure in placing color down. Don’t goal for perfection, simply benefit from the course of.
Supplies
Winsor & Newton Designer Gouache
Watercolour (Daniel Smith, Roman Szmal, Schmincke, Rosa Gallery, Holbein)
Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour
Caran d’Ache Luminance Pencils
Caran d’Ache Neocolor II Watercolour Crayons
Daler-Rowney System 3 Acrylic Ink
Daler-Rowney Tear-off Palette For Oil and Acrylic
Numerous spherical or mop brushes
Derwent Push Button Waterbrushes
Sailor Fude De Mannen Fountain Pens
De Atramentis Doc Ink
Derwent Inktense Blocks and Pencils
About Katie Moody
Katie is a combined media artist residing on the south coast of England and is massively impressed by nature. She teaches and shares her artwork on YouTube, Patreon, and Instagram, encouraging extra individuals to select up their sketchbooks, and discover their artistic pleasure with portray. Katie is an advocate that creativity is for everybody.
Comply with Katie on Instagram
Additional Studying
Utilizing Watercolours for Illustration
Arches Aquarelle: A Conventional Watercolour Paper
Recreating the Color Palette of Eric Ravilious
Getting ready a Watercolour Gouache Palette for Portray on Location
Store Katie Moody’s Artwork Supplies on jacksonsart.com
Store Sketchbooks on jacksonsart.com
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