From the Sketchbook

One thing I have learned is to always carry my sketchbook.  My sketchbook has become my notebook, journal, a way to remember ideas, a way to reflect the things I see around me.  I am wired as a “visual” thinker, and often experience and learn about the world around me through the use of images.  Having a sketchbook handy at all times allows me to capture those ideas.

Sketching isn’t always easy, and comes with practice.  Sometimes, if I have an image in my head, it feels like I can look down at the paper and “see” the image there.  All I have to do is try to follow the outlines to capture the image on the paper.

I started out with a plain, spiral bound book with white pages, but found out pretty quickly that the loose pages of a spiral bound book tend to slip around more, and smear the drawings.  I have also fallen in love with toned papers, and drawing with pencil and “white charcoal”.  The subtle use of the white gives the drawings an extra sense of depth.