Addictive Sketcher

Adebanji Alade, otherwise known as ‘The Addictive Sketcher’, features regularly on the BBC's The One Show, and can often be found sketching travellers on the London Underground.He trained at Yaba College of Technology in Nigeria, later obtaining a diploma in portraiture from Heatherley’s School of Fine Art in Chelsea, where he now teaches. Adebanji is the President of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI); 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; the Alan Gourley Memorial Award at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters Exhibition 2017, and numerous others.Adebanji has a strong following in the US as well as the UK. He writes regularly for The Artist magazine and exhibits with the ROI. He teaches at the Art Academy, London, and also runs workshops and demonstrations for schools, colleges, universities and art societies.

• Introduction 6Motivation & inspiration 12What you need 16Sketching techniques 20Composition 34Value & Colour 40People indoors 44Pub scene 54People Outdoors 62Busker 74Places Outdoors 80Statue 94Places indoors 100Gallery 108Discover 114Painting 122Index 128

Adebanji Alade is caught up in the joys of a creative adventure, and he wants you to join him on his drawing escapades. A little dramatic perhaps, but as the title suggests, sketching for Adebanji is a way of life rather than just a way to while away an hour or two with paper and pencil.Following an opening chapter in which the Nigerian-born artist talks about his upbringing and the time at college when his passion for sketching was born, Adebanji describes his mindset and goals to the reader. He writes about appreciating and embracing your work, the pitfalls, and challenges, how to maintain momentum, and more. It’s advice that comes across as genuine and from experience, delivered in an enthusiastic tone. No surprise really seeing that Adebanji teaches at London’s Art Academy and runs workshops in schools and colleges.Adebanji maintains his conversational tone as he covers the sketching basics, starting with the equipment he uses, before going on to mark-making techniques such as contours, angles, and ghosting. It’s accompanied by unfussy photography, short walkthroughs, WIPs and finished art. The artist spends longer covering core art concepts including composition and perspective, and provides a range of finished examples, annotated art and a simplified explanation of technical terms.The heart of the book is given over to specific sketching scenarios, including public transport, buskers, statues, and markets. All are within reach of the average artist and Adebanji provides practical tips on how to approach each topic. He maintains the personal touch, giving anecdotes on what and who he encountered on the day, and lessons learned from the session. Extended walkthroughs show art theory in practice, as the artist takes his rough line art to a degree of finish on a variety of scenes and styles.