William T. Ayton online gallery / portfolio
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COVER OF AUGUST 1998 SKETCHBOOK
This small Aquabee sketch pad cost $2.65 back in 1998. The interior contents were not influenced by the image on the cover.

William T. Ayton recently found this small, 30-page sketchbook, from August 1998, hidden on a shelf under a pile of magazines and papers. It seemed to hold together as a complete piece, so he decided to scan every page (including the cover to the left, which is the drawing the manufacturer chose to use), and put it up on his web site.

The drawings are not as finished and worked as many on this site. These are not really preparatory drawings for other works (although they may seem to be). They are smaller, more whimsical, less obsessive versions of his more developed themes. However, many of the major ideas which occur in Ayton's work appeared in this small book, so he thought it would be interesting to reproduce the book in its entirety, to show a certain train of thought which came into being.

The dimensions of the sketchbook (and therefore all the drawings therein) are 7" by 5". He used a rapidograph pen and black ink.

Ayton has deliberately left commentaries off these pages. There are many references to other works presented here, and many influences surface in these small drawings, but in this case he prefers to let the viewer come to his/her own conclusions.

If you look closely, you can spot references to Redon, Brueghel, Picasso, Goya, and many other artists.

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images & content copyright © William T. Ayton, 1991-2021