The Addictive Sketcher

by Adebanji Alade

Overview

Adebanji Alade believes that everything in art begins as a sketch, and his mission is always the same - to instil his work with the power and immediacy of the sketch. This book will show you how.

Giving an insight into how this inspiring and talented artist works, The Addictive Sketcher passes on Adebanji Alade's infectious enthusiasm and will have the reader reaching for a pencil or pen to have a go. Adebanji has a skill and a passion for speaking and motivating his audience in a fun and engaging way, and this is reflected in his writing style.

Lively, stimulating and instructive, it is packed with numerous examples of the author's sketches as well as examples of his vibrant finished paintings. Covering pencils, coloured pencils, charcoal and graphite, along with finished oil paintings, this book provides a fascinating insight into the author's techniques.

Adebanji's work covers a broad range of subjects, including landscapes, portraits, crowd scenes, urban scenes and seascapes. He's particularly well known for his portraits and scenes of London. This book includes examples from a range of subject areas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781782215820
Publisher:	Search Press
Publication date:	02/04/2020
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	426,278
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Adebanje Alade is a young, up-coming artist who has already made his mark as an inspirational artist and motivational speaker on the London art scene. Otherwise known as 'The Addictive Sketcher', Adebanje has been featured regularly on The One Show sketching celebrities such as Jeremy Paxman and Leslie Ash, and can often be found sketching travellers on the London Underground. Adebanje is an Associate Member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters; a full member of The Guild of Fine Art in Nigeria; and in 2014 was elected to the council of the Chelsea Art Society. He also belongs to Urban Sketchers Worldwide and Plein Air Brotherhood. His awards include Buxton Spa Sketchbook Award (2014); winner of Pinta Rapido Plein Air Event at Chelsea Town Hall in 2013; winner of Best Painting of a London Scene, Chelsea Art Society in 2010, and numerous others. He writes regularly for The Artist magazine and exhibits with the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. Adebanje has a strong following in the US as well as the UK, and he regularly demonstrates to art groups, art societies and schools around the country.

Editorial Reviews

Paint Magazine - Jan 2020

I said you'll like Adebanji and I'll go further, you'll love him. His addiction isn't demanding (at least not of the reader) and his enthusiasm doesn't make him a preacher. He just wants you to get as much pleasure from sketching - anything and everything - as he does. He achieves this by showing countless examples and by offering a torrent of practical advice. 

But perhaps the best thing about Adebanji is that he understands his own working methods and this makes him one of the best teachers around. Books on sketching can easily be - erm - sketchy (boom, boom!) when it comes to instruction, but this is one of the best drawing manuals there is. Adebanji understands form, structure and perspective and his explanations of everything from faces to buildings, interiors, landscapes and figures, both individual and in groups, are second to none.
This is a joyous book that will teach you much more than you'll ever believe in the company of a warm and generous teacher.
 
The Artist - Feb 2020

This is a book born of love. Adebanji Alade loves books and he loves drawing. If you're going to write one, it's a good place to start. In other hands, this could easily be a street-corner evangelistic rant, but Adebanji is too smart for that. He's also an excellent teacher, having learnt his craft from a copy of Alwyn Crawshaw's Learn to Sketch and understanding not just the processes of drawing, but how to acquire them.

It's impossible not to be carried along by his enthusiasm and the sheer dynamism of his work. Although this is carried out for the most part in the field, it's remarkably polished and a lot more than just quick notes. There's an element of improvisation - a jazz-like tone - and Adebanji certainly has a natural ability. If you share his love of drawing, this is a book to embrace as well as learn from.

Booklist - April 2020

Author and artist Alade, known for his painting, teaching, and YouTube channel, believes that making sketching a habit is the best way to develop one’s skills. This method of daily practice will sound familiar to readers pursuing virtually any artistic endeavor, and Alade endorses a focus on sketching subjects one finds interesting as the key to sustaining the practice over time. With lists of advice for creating a sketching habit, sections focused on techniques, tools, subjects, and settings offer instruction and examples. The variety in Alade’s own work—using a range of media, both color and monotone, and in a number of styles—keeps the reader’s interest. Aspiring artists with a wide range of styles will see themselves reflected here. Alade encourages readers to immerse themselves in the works of artists they admire through books and documentaries, so library staff may find that this book also spurs interest in other art books. — Anne Heidemann

From the Publisher