Something pivotal happened on these pages that shaped the visual language I have been developing ever since. The gesture in the figure is a little melodramatic, but the photographic reference I took was completely spontaneous and without the knowledge of the person. This did result in about half a dozen watercolour images with a similar aesthetic. Some more successful than others.
I've found these A4 spiral bound books with cheap cartridge paper to be my go to place for scribbling down ideas and general sketching. They are the perfect size, they lie flat when opened, are reasonably forgiving with any media, inks, pencil, watercolour and charcoal (stay away from anything oil based) are all fine. I haven't really deviated from this book style for about 19 or 20 years. I have been given moleskin sketchbooks over the years and I make a vow to only use fancy ones from then on, just to give my art practice its due street cred....to no avail. These spiral bound books are THE BEST.
Watercolour and pencil sketch