Sketchbooks

One of my favorite things in the entire world is to keep a sketchbook. I find by being able to sit an enjoy a place by sketching the experience transcends at such a deeper level.

Each book, I try to challenge myself in a new way. I give myself a boundary. This helps guide the process, teaches you to look at a space in a slightly different way.

Important Note: I rip out sketches I can’t stand, maybe one day I will come to peace with my terrible art. Yes, some pages are taped together, or totally gone, sorry!

Sketch Book: The Double- Wide

The challenge for this book was to paint the landscape across two pages instead of one.

I splurged. I bought a nice watercolor book that was quite large. Every weekend, I went to the mountains and attempted to do a plein-air sketch. I wanted to go big. Bigger then I usually do. It was liberating. I also wanted to keep the pieces. I typically sell sketches from my sketchbook, but no one wants a two fold piece. So yes, it was a bit of a salty move but this book is a keep sake. It's one of the best things that came out of 2020.

Sketchbook: Colorado, Belize & Ecuador

I don’t love tight square work but it does make me look at composition a bit more! I started most of these on site painting and finished them later…

Sketchbook: Colorado & Belize: Tiny Brush

For this book, I splurged on some fancy pencils. I incorporated more pencil lines and marks with the watercolor. I also bought a really tiny brush and used it to tighten up my work a bit. This is a moleskin watercolor sketchbook

Sketchbook Travel: Netherlands

The challenge was to try to paint and travel at the same time. This book needed to be small to fit in the saddlebags of the bike.

Sketchbook: Colorado Loose with Live Edges