David Hockney: A Yorkshire Sketchbook

I love this man's art work and style of sketching. This was given to me as a gift and I've been through it several times.

When you draw a landscape, the act of translating the visual perception into a created image makes it a part of your consciousness. If you're good at drawing, your representation will evoke not just the scene in front of you, but the living nature of the elements of the scene--the plants, the land, the sky and clouds. For some reason, a simple sketch--if the lines are true--evokes in the viewer a more dimensional sense of place than a photograph or finished painting ever can; perhaps this is because viewers must engage their imagination to recreate the scene from the mere suggestions of shapes and lines? David Hockney, of course, is very, very good. The completely natural arrangements of plants along the road edges, the nodding grass stems and occasional flowers, the shapes of the trees and the curves of their branches, the slopes of the furrowed hills, all feel so alive that I feel like I'm in the middle of them. If Hockney's Yorkshire paintings are an all-out banquet, this sketchbook is a dreamy lunch with a really good glass of wine.

I was suggested to check out this book by one of my professors and after looking at it digitally online I had to buy it and have a physical copy. Its small by art book standards but I think thats part of why I love it so much. Love the work inside- and great use for precedent studies. There is much to learn from this sweet book.

I enjoyed this Hockney sketchbook presentation because it shows an aspect of his artwork that you don't get to see very often. Many of the works look quickly done and are very loose compared to his paintings. But you still get a sense of his wonderful compositions and use of color. These are all landscapes which are my favorite part of his practice. My only complaint is that the paper is a very smooth surface and I would guess that the actual paper used in the sketchbooks has more texture to it and less gloss. Still, for the imagery, this is an enjoyable book. Not the place to start your Hockney book collection, but one for the die-hards.

I have always admired Hockney's compositions and mark making. This little book helps you study them up close without the distraction of text or page numbers. What I like best is that the pictures cover the full page so I don't have to get out a magnifying glass to see the details. It is a sturdy hardcover book, printed on good quality paper.

I'm from Hockney country in Yorkshire and I absolutely love his Wolds work - makes me beam. This little book is simple and perhaps a bit plain but then again, I love the purity of each sketch. It's a little treasure - like the East Riding.

We have here a facsimile of a real sketchbook belonging to David Hockney, our most accomplished of the successful living artists. The reproductions are true, the book is styled as a real sketchbook therefore, thankfully, no commentary, no one trying to edit DH.This hard cover has a lovely dust jacket to ID the sketchbook as a facsimile. Of course all of us familiar with art books can see this is a reproduction.DH is wildly prolific and we have so many publications do not choose this one unless you understand there is no commentary.

I have met David Hockney and enjoy following his career. This delightful book is for those who love sincere, humble and creative images of a much loved landscape by one of today's greatest painters. Here we have a great water colourist searching for the spirit of 'his' East Yorkshire.Christopher Pyett Melbourne Australia.