Year-End Skyscapitos

 

12/22/25 sunrise, Maple Leaf neighborhood

After many consecutive days (weeks?) of gloomy, gray and wet sunrises, the dawn after the solstice brought a colorful one (at left). I think I missed the best of it by the time I got upstairs, but I was too delighted not to sketch its tail end. The other surprise was seeing how far south the sun rises this time of year (which is why I could see the colors so well). Yes, it happens every year, and yet it always surprises me!

There’s a chance for more, but looking at the weather forecast, these are likely the last skyscapitos of 2025. This is also a wrap for the Uglybook that I began on Nov. 10, 2022.

It’s the third white Uglybook I’ve filled. The others contain skyscapitos, but they also contain more randomness than this one does. When I bought the first three-pack, I was skeptical that I’d have enough uses for white Uglybooks; after all, I have plenty of high-quality sketchbooks containing white paper. I realized quickly, though, that the 80-pound paper is sufficient for the light washes I use with watercolor pencils in thumbnail-size sketches. More significantly, the inexpensive book invites small color captures of sky scenes that are changing by the second. It shouts, “Hey, we’re not making plein air paintings here! Just grab the color before it’s gone! Now!” Realizing that I did have a use for them, I eventually got a second three-pack. I’m glad I did; Uglybooks stopped making white books a long time ago, probably realizing that they didn’t need to compete in the traditional white sketchbook market.

12/12/25 sunset

Although book No. 3 contains a few random sketches, and some skyscapitos required different colored papers (like the dark blue one at right), for the most part, it’s a continuous chronology of sunrises and sunsets I’ve sketched the past three years. I appreciate that kind of continuity.

My life three years ago was very different from now. Back then, I sometimes sketched sunrises not with joyful anticipation but with dread of what the day might bring. Sometimes my sunset sketches were brief moments of respite after long days of pain and anxiety. Now I finish the book with peace and gratitude, looking forward to more skyscapitos in 2026.

Three years of sky color