Sometimes when inspiration has been lost, it might help to go to a favourite art gallery or have another look at an artist to search for something familiar… and give it a twist, which often leads to more new ideas. Even da Vinci was fond of copied cats (as well as ferrets, science and the human body…you should really see his Facebook page) … anyway, here are five suggestions for your next sketchbook drawing session!

Re-do it what’s been done before, but in your own way

  1. Go to a museum/gallery and draw; it’s such a treat to stand directly before favourite artworks to study and copy one of hundreds of masterpieces found in London: The National Gallery, The British Museum, and the Wallace Collection, to name a few. There’s plenty of stuff to see at The Courtauld Gallery and the Tates, too… and of course, there’s the old stand-by for dozens of beautifully-wrought objects in the Victoria & Albert Museum.  Getting out and about with a sketchpad is also a fun way to meet people, who are always curious and love chatting with artists working in public spaces!
    Kelise Franclemont, study of Rodin’s ‘Inner Voice (the Muse’, 2010, charcoal on paper.
    Room 21 at the V&A containing bronzes and marbles by August Rodin. Image courtesy vam.ac.uk
    Kelise Franclemont, drawing at the V&A with sketch of Ivan Meštrović’s ‘heroic torso 1908’, 2014, graphite on paper
  2. Explore the infinite inspiration of the human body using some new material which is not the life drawing class standard (I’m looking at you, charcoal) such as in this collage using scraps tracing vellum, newsprint, and old packing paper to depict the model:

    This collage was a result of a sketch from life drawing class in 2009. Image courtesy Kelise Franclemont.
    This collage was a result of a sketch from life drawing class in 2009. Image courtesy Kelise Franclemont.
  3. Drawing “en plein aire” is always refreshing, like these artists have done:  a sketch of Clapham Common by Kelise Franclemont, photos and sketches by Jess Huang, and paintings of London by Oliver Yu Chan and Sarah Fosse:
    Sarah Fosse, view of St Paul’s Cathedral and Millennium footbridge. Image courtesy the artist.
    Kelise Franclemont, ‘The bandstand at Clapham Common’, 2013, ink on paper.
    Image courtesy Jess Huang of a man sketching in central London.
    Jess Huang, drawing in Cambridge, 2009. Image courtesy Jess Huang.
    Oliver Yu Chan, ‘Shard from the art studio in Borough High St’, 2014, acrylic on canvas. Image courtesy the artist.
  4. Give yourself a little challenge, scavenger hunt-style, such as “draw 5 things that begin with the letter F”. You will find many intriguing and off-the-wall items at The Hunterian Museum, Wellcome Collection, Museum of London, Science Museum, or Natural History Museum, like this “F” item, which traces the endlessly absorbing pattern in a delicate sea fan.

    Kelise Franclemont, sketch of a dried sea fan, 2010, graphite on paper, as seen in the Natural History Museum.
    Kelise Franclemont, sketch of a dried sea fan, 2009, graphite on paper, as seen in the Natural History Museum.
  5. Experiment with different materials that you normally don’t use; e.g., instead of old-school paper and pencil, practice drawing with a Wacom stylus and tablet or other technology instead. Here are some examples of “paintings” (if they can be called that?) from artists David Hockney, Yibao Gao, and Kelise Franclemont who demonstrate very different results that can be achieved with an iPad and an app such as Brushes or ArtRage:
    David Hockney, ‘The arrival of sprint in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011’, 2011, one of 52 iPad drawings (using Brushes) printed on paper, in ‘A Bigger Picture’ at Royal Academy, London. Image courtesy Royal Academy website.
    Yibao Gao, ‘Lunchbox’, 2013, digital print (ArtRage). Image courtesy the artist and Showtime.arts.ac.uk
    Yibao Gao, ‘Hotel Shampoos’, 2013, digital print (ArtRage). Image courtesy the artist and Showtime.arts.ac.uk
    Kelise Franclemont, ‘artist painting’, 2011, digital media (Sketchy).
    Kelise Franclemont, ‘pregnant woman seated’, 2012, digital media (Brushes).

There’s no end to the creative things one can do with new materials or a different set-up. All that really matters for something exciting to happen is to mix it up a little!

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