There is something very satisfying about a concertina book. I have made many, and bought several. This was a bought one, a small book, 15 x 10 cm, about the size of a postcard. As so often happens with an impulse purchase, this little book remained on my shelf for quite some time, waiting for inspiration.
The paper in it is a heavyweight watercolour paper, with a rough texture, something I never use in my larger drawings, and this texture was putting me off, I knew I would not be able to get clean lines or an even graduation of colour so was unwilling to begin, but eventually decided I just needed to do something, anything in it. I started with my usual beginning material of Liquid Pencil, well watered down, and simply made loose, flowing marks, the only thought being of a continuum across the entire book.
In the above image you can see the loose marks made in Liquid Pencil and the beginnings of the drawing that developed with coloured pencils. The texture is clear too – eventually I came to appreciate this as it could be used to my advantage, there was no point fighting it!
Imaginary birds, animals and insects began to appear, entwining with one another along the length of the book. The title I have given it is ‘Conscious Unconscious’.
The pencils are Caran d’Ache Luminance, only using four colours, dark indigo, a dull red, a bright red and an ochre.
anna warren portfolio 
Anna, I love this piece!! Thank you for sharing your process and your thinking. Like so much of your work, I love the “other-ly world” you invite us into and its richly detailed critters and beings—so magical and inspiring—it enriches all who enter into it! Thank you also for the quality of the photographs you took, which allowed me to expand them and look so very deeply into the story they tell. I think the texture of the paper adds important dimension so that the story also has depth. I don’t just scroll across the concertina, I wind in and about and through it, noticing even more nuance and detail along the way. Kudos!!!
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Thank you so much Anne-Marie! I love the thought that you wind in and about and through the drawing, that is exactly what I would hope for, a kind of immersive experience. I wasn’t sure whether to put in the detail shots, so I’m glad you got so much out of them. The texture of the paper that I found so off-putting at the beginning really did become an essential part of the soft quality of the drawing in the end. It’s always good to get a new experience! Thank you so much!
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I so love that we have been able to connect over the last few years, especially given our shared artistic interests. You really are the first person that I’ve been able to explore these kinds of thoughts with and it really has enhanced my own creative thinking.
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It’s been wonderful for me too – the level of your analysis takes my thought to another level. It does prove a genetic connection I think!
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It’s great to read the processes you’ve gone through, and to know that others sometimes stumble over using a paper which is different from usual. But as you now know, it worked out very well indeed.
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Thanks Vivienne – the reticence to use the rough paper, then the realisation that I could adapt my working to use it is reassuring in a way. It opens all sorts of possibilities!
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I have just begun a sketch with polychromos pencils on pastel paper with texture when usually I go for a smoother finish. Will be interested to see how it goes.
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Good luck, I hope it goes well!
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I can understand what you mean about a concertina book being satisfying. It is so complete with a clear beginning and end as defined by the black edges on left and right. It could be “read” from one direction to another or gazed at all at once.
Regarding the surface, one could think of this as an exercise in overcoming resistance and surrendering to what is – as you accepted the paper for what it is and worked with it.
(Incidentally I also think the initial marks are very beautiful.)
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There is something about the finiteness of a concertina book, you can go no further, everything you want to say has to be encompassed by it. The fact it can be closed up, then opened a bit at a time, or laid out flat adds a different dimension too, very different from an artwork that is framed and hung on the wall. It can be read, even with no words.
Those initial marks are quite gentle aren’t they, just a suggestion of what may be coming next – I’m glad you enjoy them!
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Yes, the idea of opening, closing, taking a sneak peek, makes me think of something precious, like a love letter.
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Oh that is a nice way of looking at it!
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