Matthew Brehm’s
book Sketching on Location is perhaps the most complete and thorough volume on the
subject that I’ve read to date (and I try to get my hands on any title related
to sketching on location). An architect and urban sketcher, the author views
location sketching as a craft –
accomplished with the hands, using skills developed over time and much
practice. “It is easier to ascribe someone else’s ability to ‘talent,’ as if
certain individuals are born with advanced sketching skills. Yet it has been my
experience that anyone can learn to draw and constantly improve their skills of
observation and representation. . . . What is required is not innate ability,
but rather the desire, the patience, and the perseverance to learn.” I share
the same attitude about sketching, which made me an eager student of this believer
and follower of the Urban Sketchers manifesto.
In the introduction expressing his approach toward sketching
as craft, Brehm includes suggestions for cultivating a continual learning
process – all of which I could enthusiastically get behind (paraphrased below):
- Draw regularly – every day, if possible.
- Always carry a small sketchbook with you.
- Try to avoid frustration. If a sketch isn’t going well, turn
the page.
- Keep practice sketches small: 2” x 3”.
- Study other people’s drawings, and apply their techniques to
your own drawings.
- Carry images of sketches you like to learn from.
- Target your weaknesses. Focus on aspects that give you
trouble and practice those.
- Invite constructive criticism of your sketches.
- Try using media that you haven’t used before.
Next Brehm discusses material and media choices (with his
own hand-drawn illustrations of the materials). The Getting Started and Setup sections
explain basic techniques on planning, composition and perspective. He believes
initially “setting up” a sketch – using light lines to lay out the entire composition
before drawing – is one of the most important steps in making a successful
sketch and shows how to do this effectively.
The next section, Value, is one of the most thorough
discussions I’ve read on achieving relative values during location sketching
(and probably the most useful to me). Strong value contrasts, he says, attract
and excite the viewer’s eye. “Value has the potential to bring the view to
life.”
The chapter on Color focuses on colored pencils and
watercolor for their portability and ease of use in the field. Again, he
stresses the importance of establishing relative values even when color is
added.
Entourage (an architectural term that was new to me in the
context of sketching) is everything surrounding a central sketch subject –
people, street furniture, plants, cars and even the sky. As an architect, Brehm
shows with his sketches that his primary interest in the urban landscape is
buildings, but he stresses the importance of including appropriate entourage
elements to give the building context in time and space.
The book’s final chapter discusses ways to store, reproduce,
display and share completed sketches.
The only thing I don’t like about this book is its price:
$57 for a 186-page paperback. The full-color sketch reproductions are beautiful
and plentiful, and the content is certainly worth the price. But I would expect
any commercially available book with less than 200 pages and a price of more
than $40 to be a hardback. I hope this isn’t the trend in publishing.
(This book review also appears on Amazon.com.)
