Just going through some old sketchbooks I came across this sketch from my first serious sketching trip in 2009 – 3 weeks in the UK and 1 week in Paris with my great sketching buddy Esther.

This is a rare black and white sketch  – I don’t do many of them do I? The reason is that I lost my paint tin on the flight to Paris….but this is really besides the point.

 
The thing that I want to share is the mud map that I did before attempting the sketch. This was the way that I explored the building for myself  – the way I got to know it. After doing this diagram I found the main sketch a lot easier…. fun!

The more I sketch the less I need to do diagrams like this as I my observational skills develop all the time, but if I am presented with a highly complex building, it is really the only way to get to know.