Customer Reviews

Moira Huntly's Sketchbook Secrets

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The author shows how to make the most of sketching as a holiday visual diary and as preliminary study and inspiration for later paintings. Her trips to Hawaii, Wales, Spain, Portugal, the UK and Canada fill the pages with quick sketches in a variety of mixed media, though the majority examples are pen and ink with watercolor.

The value is in sketching 15-30 minutes and keeping your line relaxed yet focussed on what captures the eye. Huntly's examples include interesting plants, landscapes, cityscapes, harbor scenes, and even a quaint toilet directional sign! - these capture mood and character of a place imprinted on a traveler. The results are sketches that look spontaneous and energetic, demonstrating the value of simplifying a complex scene while maintaining its realistic flavor.

Huntly gives tips on packing art supplies for long distance travel or day outings, what to expect in public places, how to accommodate weather and making the most of available drawing opportunities wherever they arise - like waiting in an airport, resting at a mall or relaxing in a cafe after lunch.

A wonderful travel sketching reference book for an artist's library.

I bought this book from Plumcircle in February 2010. It was brand new and arrived in good condition. I am happy with the seller. The book itself is a beautiful compendium of Moira Huntly's sketches and paintings from her sketches in various media. I've always been a fan of her drawings and enjoy seeing the springboard of ideas she uses to create her paintings. The book starts with a good overview of her working materials. The rest of the book is devoted to her sketches and subsequent paintings she did of various places she has visited. Each drawing or painting is annotated with a brief description of her inspiration or the place itself. It is not a step-by-step of how to do sketches or how to take a sketch to a finished painting, but it is good visual inspiration. Overall, I was happy with the book and reading some of the descriptions gives ideas of how one might interpret various subjects.