I recently spent a few hours drawing in the National Gallery, London. Sometimes I call in early, as I work nearby.

This is one of two studies of Van Gogh's Sunflowers. It is not a print, it is hand drawn with a fineliner.

I used an old photo album, which I bought in a charity shop, as a sketchbook. I often do this as the card is usually of very good quality, and those little leaves of opaque paper between each page keep my drawings clean. There are loads of unused photograph albums in charity shops. People are given them as gifts and then discard them, such a waste. I like to be eco-friendly and put them to good use.

The green envelope once belonged to a pack of Christmas cards given to me by a friend. She had bought them and not used them. Again, I hate to see them go to waste.

I record the making of my work on my blog (alisonsye.com), where I have more space to write more stuff. You can also find me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr.