Sketching Outdoors

Pack up your materials, leave your painting inhibitions behind and step outside with Barry Herniman, ready to sketch.

Fun, friendly and practical, this handbook is jam-packed with tips and brimming with answers to questions such as: What should I take? Where should I go? What medium should I use? Where can I find inspiration?

This is a handy book you will keep close by for reference time and again. It is full of inspiring artwork as well as five demos: a coastal scene in pen and ink; a countryside panorama in watercolour; a quintessential English village in gouache; a townscape in line and watercolour wash; and trees in watercolour pencils.

What comes across in every detail is the joy Barry experiences when he's sketching outside: it's contagious! He encourages you to absorb your surroundings, be aware of the input from your senses and have a go at capturing the moment in sketch. He addresses the challenges and opportunities you will face as an artist and teaches you to understand the importance of a sketchbook. Enjoyment is key shake off peer pressure and your own expectations and enter the exhilarating world of sketching outdoors.

Book Contents

Introduction 6
What do I need? 16
The importance of a sketchbook 34
Where should I go nearby? 44
Where should I go further afield? 60
What time of day? 70
What time of year? 80
Developing the artist’s eye 88
What to sketch 96
What to include and exclude 100
Countryside panorama in watercolour 108
Coastal scene in pen and ink 114
Village scene in gouache 120
Townscape in line and wash 126
Watercolour pencil woodland 134
Sketching indoors 140
Afterword 142
Index 144