I’ve just returned from a wonderful visit in Nevada and Southern California. I packed my traveling sketch bag along but didn’t think about the fact that I had just one empty page. Lesson learned. Happily, I had a few watercolor postcards in the bag so I was able to do more than one sketch. I was sitting on the back patio looking around to see what struck my eye for a sketch. There was plenty to consider! The patio looks out onto Lake Mead, some terrific hills, desert, etc. But I have been feeling rather ‘rusty’ at the fine art of sketching so when my eye landed on the pillow in the chair opposite me, I decided to give it a go. It was fun to just relax and let the pencil flow. I followed up with my fountain pen and then watercolor. I went back again with the fountain pen to deepen the accent lines.
Now I’m ready to break the seal on a new book. Kind of exciting really! The book I just completed measures 5″ x 8″; my new book measures 5 1/2″ x 5 1/2″. I remember purchasing it in the gift shop of the De Young Fine Arts Museum in Golden Gate Park. I couldn’t resist the shape and size of it. It has 128 acid-free pages with an attached elastic band to hold it neatly on the shelf.
I didn’t notice until I opened it — just moments ago — that there is also a ribbon for marking the page. That will be very handy.
It will be interesting to see how the new shape and size influence my sketching, if at all.
Now it’s time to close the first chapter and start the new one. I’ve completed that for volume 1
and I’ve made the first marks in volume 2.
When the first sketch is completed, I’ll add the starting date for volume 2. No more excuses!
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