My Latest Sketchbook

I just finished a sketchbook, exactly a year a year after I started it. This was one of my old Modo & Modo original Moleskine sketchbooks. I have a hoard of these older ones and they are still my favorite sketchbook for everyday use– they stand up well to most of the pens I use, and I like the way they work with watercolors, at least most of the time! I’ve occasionally had problems where watercolors will bead up and not adhere to the page, but it seems to be from where I’ve touched the page too much, especially in the summer when I might have sunblock residue on my hands.
Anyway, this was a very satisfying sketchbook for me. I used the front and back of every page. I carried it with me around New York City, on an Arizona ranch, at the beach, and even while kayaking on a lake. I did some very rough, quick sketches of people in the park on my lunch break, more careful sketches of a friend who was willing to stay still for a while, some drawings and paintings from photographs, and some abstract doodling. I really had fun messing around with it, and the result is probably my most colorful sketchbook ever. I’m hoping to keep this up with the next one, and hopefully finish it in less than a year!

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8 thoughts on “My Latest Sketchbook”

  1. Good stuff. As a kid I could draw anything but lost the ability in my teens (just in time for my GCSE!) and always feel a twinge of envy when I look at pictures like this. Do you have a blog dedicated to your sketches and paintings?

  2. Really nice, I am always not only in awe, but rather envious of people with talent such as yours. Very nice! When I draw a stick man, people say he is incognito!

  3. Wonderful work. Wish I could start drawing but know it would all look goofy. How should a ‘no talent and patience-challenged’ person start out? I am sure there are many people who look at sketchbooks and only wish they could.

  4. I love this whole site (a place for paper addicts like me!) and yet I’ve never commented on it. These sketchbook pages are to be envied and inspiring! Wow.

  5. So wonderful to see the insides of one of your sketchbooks! Glad to hear you will continue filling them with sketches.

    Tina

  6. The best suggestion for starting out is to just start out! Put pencil to paper and just start doodling patterns or try to draw an object that is on your desk. Have fun playing with pencils or pens or some cheap paints at first, without focusing too much on what the results are. Nobody is going to draw like daVinci on day one– and many great artists can’t/don’t draw like daVinci anyway! Another fun thing to do is to try drawing with your eyes closed. Look at an object or person you want to draw, try to observe the shapes and lines, and then close your eyes and imagine tracing around those shapes with your pencil in a single line, never lifting your pencil from the paper and never opening your eyes. The results may surprise you, and not looking at the drawing til it’s finished takes away that pressure of feeling like it’s “not good enough.”

  7. @Nifty, very cool. Really like those simple pencil sketches from the ranch. The couple on the beach is really awesome, too. Can’t wait to see more.

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