"Sketch" 2017 - sketchbook exhibition opens at Rabley Drawing Centre

The 2017 SKETCH Open Sketchbook Drawing Prize aims to promote diversity and the importance to contemporary creative practice of both:

• drawing and 
• the role of the sketchbook

100 artists’ sketchbooks selected for the Prize - selected from over 500 submissions - are now on exhibition at the Rabley Contemporary Drawing Centre and Gallery at Rabley Barn, Mildenhall, Marlborough, Wiltshire SN8 2LW - opening today and on display until 17th June 2017.

The exhibition will also tour to the following venues

• 22 July – 3 September 2017 - Black Swan Arts, Frome, 2 Bridge Street, Frome, BA11 1BB
• 9 September – 6 October 2017 - Plymouth College of Art - Gallery, Tavistock Place, Plymouth PL4 8AT
• 20 November – 15 December 2017 - Peter Scott Gallery, Lancaster Arts, Great Hall Complex, Lancaster University LA1 4YW

There are less selected artists than sketchbooks which I guess means some had more one sketchbook selected! The artists who created the selected sketchbooks are listed below. I've highlighted artists I know or know of.

If you want an image of your sketchbook displayed on this page please contact me with an image of your sketchbook and preferred website address.

• Nidhi Agarwal, 
• Nilofar Akmut, 
• Lucy Austin, 
• Peter Avery, 
• Michelle Avison, 
• Naomi Avsec, 
• Richard Baker, 
• Garry Barker, 
• Brian Bishop, 
• Andy Black, 
• Kate Black, 
• Patrick Blower, 
• Julie Bolus - a reportage artist based in Norwich who I know from Urban Sketchers
• Neil Bousfield, 
• Meg Buick, 
• Robbie Bushe, 
• Tom Cartmill, 
• Becca Collins, 
• Eugenia Cuellar, 
• Yael David-Cohen, 
• Mel Day, 
• Anne Desmet RA - an artist who specializes in wood engravings, linocuts and mixed media collages - and a member of the RA
• Clare Dudeney, 
• Cameron Duke, 
• Richard Eastwood, 
• Peter Esslemont, 
• Anny Evason, 
• David Ferry, 
• Coral G Guest - a flower painter I know who now also draws and paints landscapes. I was extremely pleased to get to include her drawings in my book about drawing and sketching

Iceland - Light into Dark by Coral Guest
The page shows a sketch of snow capped mountain in the Thorsmork Valley, Iceland.

• Nikki Gardham, 
• Yolanta Gawlik, 
• Chris Gilbert, 
• Christopher Green, 
• Beatrice Haines, 
• Lesley Hicks, 
• Tracy Himsworth, 
• Eunju Hitchcock-Yoo, 
• James Hobbs - co-founder with me of London Urban Sketchers; my sketches are in one of his books and his sketches are in mine!  [Update: This is his blog post about Sketchbook show opens at Rabley Drawing Centre]

James Hobbs's Sketchbook - double page display

• Louise Holgate, 
• Hilary Owers & Graham Hooper, 
• Laura Hudson, 
• Neil Irons, 
• Lily Irwin, 
• Paul Jackson, 
• Alexander Johnson, 
• Anne Kristin Hages, 
• Karen Lorenz, 
• Christine Mackey, 
• Tony Martin, 
• Patrick Martin, 
• Lynda Marwood, 
• Anna McDowell, 
• Ruth Miemczyk, 
• Julie Moss, 
• Stephen Mumberson, 
• Liz Myhill, 
• Maureen Nathan - wrote to tell me she has two sketchbooks included in the exhibition. An image of one of the pages from one of her sketchbooks can be seen below. She wrote about one of them in Not Moleskine on her blog

Maureen Nathan Sketchbook

• Simon Nicholas, 
• Maureen O'Leary, 
• Alison O'Neill, 
• Beñat Olaberria, 
• Edith Pargh Barton, 
• Simon Parish, 
• Helena Park, 
• Stephanie Parr, 
• Chitra Parvathy Merchant, 
• Caroline Pedler, 
• Howard Read, 
• Chloe Regan, 
• Margot Shores, 
• Julie-Ann Simpson, 
• Serena Smith, 
• Barbara Sykes, 
• Sadie Tierney, 
• Luke Treece-Birch, 
• David Willetts, 
• Melanie Wickham

The panel of Judges were

• Tom Hammick, painter and printer; 
• Peter Randell-Page RA, sculptor; 
• Gill Saunders, Senior Curator (Prints), Word & Image Dept, V&A Museum