Productive and Creative, After All

3/18/24 (memory)

With all that was going on in my life (and in my house) in 2024, I had been feeling a bit disappointed that I didn’t explore creatively as much as I usually do (either in media or in approach). But reviewing the year’s sketches for my Top 10 Memorable Sketches post reminded me of my on-location comics, which were a major change in approach. My interest in the comics style also led me to try autobiographical comics using my imagination, which is always a big stretch for me. Early in the year, I made a lot of pet portraits as a fundraiser, which was a rewarding and challenging project. It’s been a productive, creative year, after all.

Currently my studio is in a transitional mess of partly filled boxes and ongoing dishevelment. It’s hard to relax and create here because I see so much stuff I still need to sort and haul downstairs (which will be Phase 2 of my big downsizing plan). Looking ahead to 2025, I can’t wait to get my studio move completed so that I can get back to doing more drawing (maybe even painting) at my desk this winter. I’m shooting for the end of January for completion (though that might be overly optimistic).

9/29/24 Greenwood neighborhood (This was the last of my street tree series
for the year.)

My tradition for last-day-of-the-year reflections is to include sketches that I didn’t get around to sharing at the time that they were current. Interestingly enough, many are experimental in nature but also one-offs that didn’t go further, which made it difficult for me to form any coherent thoughts or ideas around them.

Wishing you creativity and fulfillment in 2025!

10/30/24 A collage/random paint splotch exercise inspired by Drewscape

11/9/24 Aegis resident

12/18/24 pale primary triad (photo reference)

11/11/24 metallic Neocolor I in Uglybooks (photo reference)

Leschi Rainbow

 

12/28/24 Leschi neighborhood

It’s a long story, so I won’t get into it here, but the upshot is that the house I grew up in is now owned by a family I’m related to on my brother’s wife’s side (see, it’s already getting long). The current owners are very nice people, but another benefit is that I occasionally get to visit them and see my childhood house. A family gathering there a few days ago was such an opportunity, so I allowed a few minutes before my visit to sketch in my old ‘hood.

This Leschi neighborhood street is on the opposite side of the boulevard where my family lived, so I would have seen these houses every day – except these weren’t the same houses I saw when I was growing up. I was stunned and disoriented to realize that all of them were taller replacements for the houses that were there 40 or 50 years ago. On “our” side of the boulevard, most of the original houses still stand. I was comforted by the Douglas firs behind them, though – they were still there (and much taller now).

The Last 6000, the Seattle organization that tracks the centenarian trees that are being threatened by new developments, points out that trees like these firs will long outlive most of the houses being built today if they are allowed to. I hope that continues to be true for these.

Technical note: As I was thinking about how to compose the sketch, a rainbow suddenly appeared! I was tickled to be able to put it in, though it was a technical challenge to make those colors show up on red paper. Tip: Put white down first.

Bananas and Plants at Swansons

 

12/27/24 Swansons Nursery

At most USk Seattle visits to Swansons Nursery, I typically start sketching outdoors, then move indoors if it’s cold. But the chilly drizzle on Friday morning pushed me indoors right off the bat – first in one of the large retail areas, then a nice table in the café with a few other sketchers. It was a fine view of plenty of plants and the popular koi pond.

New at this visit were lots of banana-shaped caution cones scattered all over the store – bright yellow, eye-catching and fun to draw!

Tina’s Top 10 Memorable Sketches of 2024

 

2/1/24 Downtown Seattle from Greg's apartment

Every December, I do a series of year-end review posts related to new products I tried that year that I liked or didn’t like; products I wished someone would make; my most memorable sketches of the year; and reflective thoughts. However, with big life changes and downsizing tasks taking a large part of my attention this year, art supplies – acquiring, using and reviewing them – weren’t on my mind as much. And with my new commitment to acquiring less of everything (recent wagon falling-offs notwithstanding), it will be the same going forward. It’s a good time to downsize my end-of-year blog traditions, too.

The one post I want to continue, though, is my review of the year’s most memorable sketches. I truly enjoy looking back at my sketches from the past 12 months (I don’t know the total number, but I scanned 1,080 images as of Dec. 23) and thinking about why some stand out as special. These sketches are almost never my “best” work (in terms of “art quality,” whatever that might be); instead, they are memorable for the feelings they evoke or meanings they hold in some way.

It’s always interesting to see the themes that emerge. A strong one is the change in my style and approach this year as I moved away from individual, stand-alone sketches and toward visual storytelling and on-location comics made of multiple sketches. It’s a very different way of thinking visually, and I’m still enjoying the process.

Of course, I enjoyed sketching with my local Urban Sketchers group regularly, but I also did more social sketching with small groups of friends than ever before. After the pandemic had subsided, and I could have gone back to social sketching, I pulled back. It was not so much out of fear of COVID but because those years were when my time and energy were increasingly committed to Greg’s care. Twenty twenty-four was the first post-pandemic year that I could spend long periods of time sketching with friends whenever I wanted. It’s an activity that I especially cherish.

As is almost always the case, my most memorable sketches are ones I made on location. Although I have learned to value drawing from photos, those sketches don’t stay with me as special. For that, I have to be there, live.

Feb. 1, Seattle skyline (top of post): Although I didn’t share this sketch of the downtown skyline until April when I was ready to talk about it, I had sketched it from Greg’s Aegis Living apartment window on Feb. 1, the day he had moved in. At the time, he didn’t understand yet that it would be his new home, and I sketched to quell the anxiety, guilt and sorrow I was hiding.

 April, family reunion in Dallas (below): Gathering with my family to view the total solar eclipse in Dallas was very special and memorable in many ways.

4/7/24 Koyama family shoes

6/24/24 Ole Bolle, Portland

June, Portland: Because I was on my own, this short trip to Portland was memorable for being a wonderful opportunity to sketch as much as I wanted without the usual daily routines and responsibilities. Sketching Ole Bolle (left) with a friend was especially fun.

 June 29, Greenwood Car Show: Year after year, this neighborhood car show has been one of my favorite summertime events where I usually made portraits of individual cars (as well as the general goings-on). This was the first time I thought of it more as a reportage opportunity, telling the story of the event with a series of sketches (below). My post includes a retrospective of past years, which show the differences in approach.

 

6/29/24 Greenwood Car Show

July 3, Ballard neighborhood: Roy, Mary Jean and I had so much fun following the sketch path through Ballard (below) that Gabi Campanario had published in the Seattle Times. The day inspired us to brainstorm other neighborhoods we’d like to walk and sketch through in a similar way next summer.

 

7/3/24 Ballard neighborhood

7/17/24 Fishermen's Terminal

July 17, Urban Sketchers Seattle 15th anniversary celebration (at right): As the opening event leading up to Sketcher Fest as well as a milestone celebration, USk Seattle’s anniversary outing at Fishermen’s Terminal was very special, indeed.

July 18, Sketcher Fest ice cream cruise (below): Another Sketcher Fest auxiliary event, the ice cream cruise was a wonderful way to reunite with lots of sketcher friends, many of whom were visiting from other states or countries. I also felt personal and civic pride showing off my hometown, delighted to sketch it from a unique point of view. 

7/18/24 Sketcher friends on the ice cream cruise

July 18, Mt. Rainier: After all the social excitement and non-stop activities leading up to Sketcher Fest, Joel and I ended the day quietly sketching Her Majesty from Maple Leaf Park (below). Both of us introverts, we needed the relaxing, quiet time to appreciate Mt. Rainier’s beauty.

7/18/24 Mt. Rainier from Maple Leaf Park

 Oct. 14, Waterfront Overlook Walk: Seeing and sketching the brand-new Overlook for the first time with Kate and Mary Jean felt like a worthy culmination of years of civic planning (and plenty of tax dollars). It was also an ideal opportunity to take a reportage approach and show as much of the new attraction as possible (below).

10/14/24 Waterfront Overlook Walk

 Dec. 11, Omakase Lunch at Moriyama Sushi: Rats perform better when rewarded. When my big downsizing efforts began mid-year, sketching while eating treats became my reward system. The most unusual treat of the year was a colorful omakase meal (below).

12/11/24 Omakase meal, Moriyama Sushi

The House in Back

 

12/23/24 About 7:45 p.m., Maple Leaf neighborhood

Most of the houses behind ours don’t put up lights on the backsides because they can’t be seen (except by me and probably my next-door neighbors). The people in this house, however, put up lights on their back porch last year, and they did again this year. Even if I’m the only one, I enjoy and appreciate them.

Shoe Horn

 

12/23/24 photo reference

He needed a shoe horn. I knew that it would be easier and less time-consuming to simply buy him a new one, especially given how cheap one would be. But my commitment to downsizing has some corollaries, and one is that I’m trying not to buy things that I know already exist somewhere in the house (if I can find them in a reasonable length of time). I have not yet finished sorting his closet, so there was a good chance a shoe horn was still in there.

In fact, it was so easy to find that I realized he had probably been using it regularly at home – a simple white shoe horn with the Hotel Sorrento’s logo. We had honeymoon travel plans that would begin a few days later, but for our wedding night, we had stayed in Seattle at the Sorrento.

As I put the shoe horn into my bag to bring to him, a part of me hesitated. Belongings have a way of “disappearing” at Aegis Living, either through misplacement or when confused residents wander into the wrong apartment and walk off with things. (Clothes and books that don’t belong to Greg have shown up in his apartment, too.) Part of me wanted to keep that Sorrento souvenir and buy him a generic one that wouldn’t mean anything to either of us, just in case it “disappeared.”

Then I realized that a plastic shoe horn with a logo carries no meaning. The meaning is in the fact that he had kept and used it all these years, and I hadn’t even been aware of it until now. I cherished that thought like a gift that would never be lost or taken from me.

When I gave it to him, I pointed out the Sorrento logo, but I couldn’t tell if it meant anything to him (I have stopped asking if he remembers things because it hurts too much when he doesn’t). He happily used it, though, to put on shoes for our walk. We held hands all the way around the park.

Confetti-Colored Christmas

 

12/22/24 About 7:20 a.m., Maple Leaf neighborhood

To my southwest, this house toned down its excessive lighting from last year. While still confetti colored, the lights on the bushes have been scaled back. I like them – not too much, not too sparse (not that anyone does Christmas lights too sparsely). Their car in the driveway reflects some of their lights (or perhaps their neighbors’). Like last year, they have at least two trees.

Happy holidays from Weather Bunny, and may all
your Christmas sweaters be ugly!

For the record, the extent of my holiday decorating is a porch light that blinks red and green alternately. The smart LED bulb I got a couple months ago can change to a gazillion colors, and the app is preprogrammed for lots of different “themes” (including “Dance Party,” “Carnival” and “Father’s Day”). When I chose “Christmas,” that’s what I got. I could have customized the colors, I’m sure, but that sounded like too much work. I’m happy that I can show so much holiday spirit without breaking a sweat.

Solstice Morning

 

12/21/24 About 7:15 a.m., Maple Leaf neighborhood

I don’t know if it’s because the clouds have become thicker or because I’m alone in the house now, but this year’s Big Dark seems bigger than ever. Although we won’t see a difference for months, it’s still a relief to know that we’re finally past the winter solstice.

As my coffee dripped, I looked across the street at the house on the corner. That neighbor doesn’t usually decorate for Christmas (in fact, I think last year was the first time), and this year she was quite late and much simpler – a strand of lights only on the front bushes. On the shortest day of the year, however, I’ll take any light I can get.

Wishing you a peaceful and well-lighted Christmas!

Review: iBayam Colored Pencils

iBayam colored pencil set of 72

A funny thing happened at Gage Academy’s Drawing Jam a few weeks ago. In previous years, Blick has always been a primary sponsor, donating all the free art supplies that participants receive with their Drawing Jam admission. The offered colored pencils were usually Blick’s student grade, which are of typical quality for their ultra-low price (a polite way of saying “not great”).

At the supplies table, I spotted the jars of colored pencils, of course, and assumed they would be Blick. To my surprise, they were of the iBayam brand – one I’d never heard of. I was curious, but in the interest of my commitment to downsizing, I helped myself to only one (not one of each color – only one red).

The only pencil I sampled at Drawing Jam... and looked
what happened!

Expecting the typical low-priced pencil, imagine my surprise when a few scribbles felt pleasantly soft and decently pigmented. This iBayam brand deserved further research!

The Gage staff member who coordinated this purchase must know their colored pencils: Available on Amazon, iBayam colored pencils are a better price than Blick’s – and much better quality, at least on first scribble. A set of 72 colors was the only one I could find. My commitment to downsizing forgotten disregarded, I added to cart. (In my defense, it was my first large colored pencil set purchase in a long, long time . . . well, OK, maybe two years, but colored pencil years are like dog years.)

An Amazon reviewer had mentioned the extremely flimsy packaging, which was no exaggeration. Every time I open the paper box and slide out the thin plastic trays, I fear that they will give way, and all the pencils will be on the floor. They definitely need to be put into a different container for ongoing use and storage (the bird on the box sure is pretty, though). As expected, iBayam pencils are made in China (as nearly all ultra-inexpensive colored pencils are).

Extremely flimsy trays and box

Silver printing on glossy round barrel

The set comes with a “72 Colors DIY Color Chart” for making swatches. I usually ignore such charts when they come with pencil sets because the paper is often not ideal for colored pencils. I prefer to swatch in a sketchbook. What made me look twice at the enclosed chart was the baffling numbering: Neither in numerical order nor in the order of the pencil arrangement in the trays (which was a typical rainbow order), it made no sense!

Out of masochistic curiosity, I decided to fill in the chart, wondering if perhaps the colors would spell out a secret message or reveal a hidden image when I was done. The task took longer than it should have because I had to hunt for the corresponding number on the chart’s randomness each time I picked up a pencil. No message or image was revealed. What kind of madness is this?! (A comical employee at iBayam is currently laughing their ass off.)

If you can make sense of this color chart, do let me know in the comments.

Though a few colors are too similar to be practical (especially all those blues and likely-fugitive pinks), the color range is decent for a set of 72. My pet peeve is when a large set has lots of greens, none of which are natural, but this set’s selection isn’t bad.

I tested White for opacity when I made a recent nocturne, but it needed an assist from a Prismacolor in the brightest spots.

I also swatched the colors in my own sketchbook just as I always do, if only to see the colors in some kind of sensical order. Annoying as the color chart is, swatching twice on two types of paper confirmed that the pencils are pleasantly soft and contain good pigment. They also produce very little dust, even as soft as they are. Most cores are well-centered, and they sharpen beautifully.

Colors swatched in Stillman & Birn Epsilon sketchbook

Appearance-wise, the only problem pencil was 047, which I had to deduce when it was the last slot left after coloring all the others in the chart. I don’t know the name of it because both the number and name are completely obliterated on the barrel.

This pencil had a bad day when color names and numbers were being printed.

As a test sketch, I chose a Zorn palette of Ochre (062), Ruby Red (023) and Black (072) to make a portrait from an Earthsworld reference photo. I found iBayam pencils to be ideal for the messy-hatching method I learned from France Van Stone a couple of years ago. I can scribble fast and hard (not recommended for most colored pencil applications) to get lots of color down quickly. To cover large areas, I can put pressure on the side of the point without breaking it. Not quite as soft as Prismacolor, which would be my favorite for this method, it’s close. While this sketch wasn’t the best example for testing blending, I piled on enough layers to be able to feel that they weren’t sliding off each other (which is common when cheap pencils contain too little pigment relative to binder).

12/20/24 iBayam colored pencils in Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook (Earthsworld reference photo)

Perhaps most impressive is that this set is a great value: 72 colors for $14.99. That’s less than half the price of Schpirerr Farben (although I paid quite a bit less a few years ago, the set of 72 is currently selling for $40), which was my previous favorite in the ultra-low-price category. iBayam pencils also produce less dust than Schpirerr Farben, which are quite crumbly.

Although I fell off the wagon buying this set, it was for a good cause: iBayam is now my recommended budget-priced colored pencil.

Wonder Woman Flexes Twice

12/19/24 My assembled kitchen chair

One of my first furniture purchases after I moved into my second apartment was a pair of inexpensive dining chairs from Dania. They weren’t ideal; the chief problem was that they were about an inch too high for me, so I could never put my feet flat on the floor while seated. But I figured I would upgrade someday when I had more money anyway, so I just tolerated them. It turned out that they were in better condition than the chairs Greg had when I moved in with him, so we used mine. Who knew that they would last 40 years?

When the seats finally started wearing out about a year ago, I started looking for replacements. This time, though, I was not going to settle for a chair that was too high. Sitting in lots and lots of diningroom chairs trying to find one that was comfortable, well made, and the right height, the problem was always the height. Out of desperation, I even considered hiring a woodworker to saw an inch off the legs (not necessarily as easy as it sounds, because if done badly, the chair would rock). But where would I get a woodworker willing to do a job like that?

Thinking outside the box, I started considering the chairs I owned that were the right height, and the most comfortable is my fully adjustable office chair. A-ha! The proverbial light bulb turned on over my head: Who says dining requires diningroom furniture? Why not get an adjustable office chair instead?

93 parts!

First I looked in the most logical place – office supply stores. All the chairs (and the choices weren’t many) seemed overbuilt for my needs and designed for “gaming,” not working (or dining, for that matter). I didn’t need arm supports and all the expensive ergonomics; I just wanted to eat breakfast!

Reluctantly, I looked online. There’s always a risk in ordering a heavy object sight unseen (or butt unsat). After reading descriptions and many reviews carefully, I found one that looked like it could do the job sufficiently. Bonus: It was available in a warm wood color that went well with my hardwood floors and kitchen table.

It arrived on my doorstep in a heavy, compact box filled with 93 parts (hopefully, all 93 that I needed). Reviewers had said that assembly was relatively easy, but I have zero confidence for such tasks. (My handy spouse guy was always the one to assemble anything, and cheerfully, which made it easy for me never to try it myself.) My first impulse was to text my kind neighbors across the street for help – but then I quickly chided myself. Surely I could follow pictorial instructions!

That last sentence is reassuring . . . sort of?

Wonder Woman flexes again!

And I did! In less than an hour, I put that sucker together, and now I enjoy all my meals seated in perfect comfort. More important, putting the chair together successfully was such a confidence boost!

Two days earlier, I had accomplished yet another intimidating task: After transferring all the files I wanted from Greg’s PC, I dismantled the peripherals for disposal. That part was easy. What I was nervous about was removing the hard drive from the tower for secure disposal. After viewing a few YouTubes for instruction, I contacted my ever-helpful friend Carol (a former professional techy who has saved me numerous times) and sent a photo of the PC’s backside. In one text, she gave me the answer I needed. Hard drive removed!

Give that Wonder Woman a donut (see below)!

12/20/24 Top Pot Doughnuts, Wedwood neighborhood

Capitol Hill Books and Eats

12/18/24 Elliott Bay Book Co. 

Although I have occasionally stopped in to buy books and gifts, it had been a long time since I last sketched inside Elliott Bay Book Company on Capitol Hill. Roy, Mary Jean and I met up at the store’s café to sketch and chat in the relaxed ambiance with a nostalgic ‘70s soundtrack.

Waiting for our meals at Oddfellows Cafe

For lunch we went next door to Oddfellows Café, which is housed in the historic Oddfellows Hall that was built in 1908. If it had been a warmer day, I might eventually have gone outside to sketch building details that had caught my eye. On this day, I was happy to simply scarf down my asparagus eggs Benedict (unfortunately, the asparagus was woody) and sketch in good company.

We did the first swap of our concertina sketchbooks. I drew MJ and Roy at Oddfellows (below) as my first sketch in MJ’s book, which I’ll keep using until the next time we meet and swap again. It will be really fun to have sketches from both of them in my book eventually.

Walking back to the light rail station, we stopped in at the Blick store, but in the interest of my downsizing, I am proud to say that I did not buy even one thing! Perhaps for the first time ever! I have witnesses!

Mary Jean and Roy sketching at Oddfellows after lunch

Review: Gritin LED Rechargeable Book Light

 

The Gritin rechargeable LED book light

When I went to make my first nocturne this season, I found that the batteries in my Mighty Bright XtraFlex2 Book Light had died. Looking back at the date of my review, I was impressed that the three AAA batteries had lasted 11 years! For nocturnes and occasional concerts, the lamp has served me well. I could have simply replaced the batteries, but I’ve been trying to get away from products that use disposable batteries. The Gritin LED book light on Amazon looked promising.

I gave the light its first charge on USB overnight, so I don’t know how long it took, but my guess is that it wasn’t long. A charge is supposed to last 80 hours (which is probably another decade for me if all I use it for is nocturne sketches!). Instead of varying light levels (the Mighty Bright has two), the Gritin offers three color temperatures of light, which I didn’t think would be a remarkable feature. I was surprised, though, that the warmer setting is less reflective on black paper. I think the feature would be useful for reading, too (what – people actually use book lights to read by instead of making nocturnes??). The bulb casts a wide, even light across the page.

Its best feature, though, is that it is lighter and slightly less bulky because it doesn’t contain batteries. The Mighty Bright is tolerable in weight with a hardcover or thick sketchbook (like my “Stefano” sketchbook cover and a black Stillman & Birn Nova I had been using when I bought the Mighty Bright), but a thinner, softcover Uglybook doesn’t give the lamp enough support, and it tends to flop over. The new Gritin hardly weighs anything and balances well with a softcover book.

Like the Mighty Bright, its illumination is way too bright to use in a concert hall without potentially annoying others. If I take it in public, I’ll try putting some tape over the LED bulb to dim it down, just as I did with the Mighty Bright. In my dark livingroom, though, it was ideal illumination for sketching across the street before dawn.

House to the Southeast (and Simplified Nocturne Kit)

 

12/17/24 7:05 a.m. in Maple Leaf

My neighbors to the southeast are among my street favorites for holiday lights – lively and colorful but not too much. When I made a nocturne last year, I focused on their windmill palm tree (which I enjoy sketching at all times of year). This week I took a wider view to get the simple string of lights around the roof’s edge and tiny tree on the porch. New this year are the lights on their back deck (where all the construction was going on two years ago). Their car in the driveway reflected illumination from their neighbors’ lights.

Technical notes: Shown below is this year’s simplified nocturne kit. I find I really don’t need more than a white colored pencil (currently a Derwent Drawing) and a few opaque paint markers. I’ve lately been using these Pilot Juice pens, which are not necessarily better than Posca, but the “fine” point size on these works well for dots of light. I used a white Gelly Roll instead of the white in the Pilot set because it’s less likely to put out an inadvertent, heavy-handed blob. And a black Uglybooks, of course. Newsflash: I got a new book light for making nocturnes; stay tuned for the review.

My simplified nocturne kit

Finally, My Sketch Journal Sticks

 

12/4/24 Retreat at Green Lake

About a year ago, I got back on the daily sketch journal wagon that I’d fallen off of several times. This is the longest I’ve continued the habit unbroken, and I’m happy that it has finally “stuck.” I think the factors for my success this time are these:

• 

  11/18/24 photo reference

  The journal sketchbook is my daily-carry. When I had used a larger sketchbook in the past, my intention was to work on sketch journaling in the evening as a way to review and document the day. But that’s the worst time of day for me to do anything creative, and I often didn’t have energy for it. If I carry the journal sketchbook all day, every day, which is my usual habit with any sketchbook, I can almost always make time for a sketch somewhere. And if I haven’t, I can do one in the evening; once in a while doesn’t feel onerous.
  
  
• I use Uglybooks. Colored paper encourages me to sketch because the color is already there. Somehow even a basic line drawing carries more weight on colored paper, which also allows easy toning with white and black. For me, it’s the hands-down most expeditious way to make a sketch. And the A6 size is comfortable without being too daunting to fill. (See end of post for how many I’ve used this year.)
  
  
• I keep the content, format and approach unrestricted. Instead of “forcing” myself to practice drawing from imagination (which I tried to do for a while when I journaled in the evening), I draw in whatever way I want. Most days, I still draw from life on location (which is my go-to for the foreseeable future). But I also draw from photos, imagination and memory, and sometimes I see stories that work as autobiographical comics. I also make no attempt to record everything that happened (which isn’t possible anyway). It’s just my journal: It’s all acceptable, and it all works.
  
  

  

  11/20/24 Sketch notes from a presentation about sleep

  
  
• I decided I don’t have to share everything. Shortly after I began sketching and sharing on social media, I made the decision that I would share everything – the good, the bad, the ugly. It was to make a point. I had noticed that many artists shared only what must be their carefully curated work. Many beginning sketchers saw all those gorgeous drawings – and only gorgeous drawings – and got discouraged rather than inspired. I wanted to show everything so that my process would be clear: It takes a lot of practice to get good, and I’m not there yet, but here I am on my way.

Now that I’ve been sketching for 13 years, I don’t have to keep making that point. I’m still not curating with the intention of showing only the good. But some sketches I make are just for myself because they are personal in content or are meaningful only to me. That’s not the same as “curating”; it’s just keeping my journal private when I want to.

12/13/24 Aegis residents

Unlike reading my written journals (which I rarely do), paging through my sketch journals makes me happy in the way I had always hoped a sketch journal would – reminding me of things I saw and did; of people I socialized with; of the sheer joy of drawing. It’s been a good year.

12/8/24 Carolers performing at Aegis Living

12/14/24 Four Seasons lobby

These are all the Uglybooks I've filled in 2024!

I like this top view better because it shows all the page colors. You can see how the white one buckled when I used watercolor pencils.