Sketchbook Conversations -- a chat with Emma Palmer

Welcome to the first of my new Sketchbook Conversations blog series. Last week I shared my sketchbook story and starting today I'll be sharing stories of other artists and their sketchbooks. (If you're interested in participating, please contact me and I'll send you the details).

Today's Sketchbook Conversation is with Emma Palmer. I'll let Emma take over from here and share her sketchbook story:

Hi, my name is Emma. I'm an artist and illustrator. 

When it comes to sketchbooks I'm a little different to other artists. Strangely I owned one (actually several ahem!) for a couple of years before actually using it. I just don't tend to sketch, preferring to get stuck in and create the image I have imagined straight up. 

One day I ran out of my favourite watercolour paper, the shops were shut and so there was nothing left for it but use a sketchbook. 

I found it quite liberating as there felt less pressure to produce a picture of perfection and gave me the opportunity to play with new ideas. I relaxed which is always a good thing. My sketchbook is a watercolour Moleskin. I use a H pencil to sketch the idea and then paint with gouache & watercolour paints. I have been painting imaginary portraits on one side of a page with the intention of adding either an object or an animal on the other side. I love my sketchbook now and hope to fill many more of them with whimsical stories, which I would one day like to create oil paintings of.

My advise for anyone starting out is to use a grey putty rubber! I use to be put off art thinking that if I was any good at drawing I should be able to get it right first go, but that is rarely the case with my style of imagery. Putty rubbers are great, they don't damage the paper's surface and you don't get all those messy rubbery bits, plus they last forever.

If you would like to follow my work please check out my Instagram gallery emmadrawseveryday. 

I also sell my cards and other pieces of art through my shop in Made It, the handmade market website under the same name.

Thank you, Emma, for sharing your sketchbook with us!

*Photos in this post © Emma Palmer. Used with permission.