New Sketchbooks and some older sketches

Remember the sketchbook I made? The paper wasn't folded with the grain and as a result it was all a bit wonky. Also, I hadn't realized I knicked the spine, which began to fall apart after being carried around in my purse. It was very heavy! So, I tore it down and made these three sketchbooks. The material is just some I had laying around from an old project. The rings are 1", not the really big ones; and I used Yes! paste for the glue. The small one pictured with the cover open is identical to the largest one, and they all have an envelope glued into the back. These are incredibly easy to make--I made all three the same day! But what I really like, is that I have no fear because there is always the possibility of removing a page. Or adding. Or even selling one! I'm not embarrassed to have someone look through it and as a result, I'm taking it everywhere and actually getting it out to use!

This is a failed experiment that for some reason, I still kind of like. Paul Wang, Hong Kong correspondent for Urban Sketchers, had a few pictures of his pre-painted pages along with the finished pages. I love his color so decided to give it a go. Well, what was supposed to be a light red wash turned out much darker than intended because I was sitting in the sun on a dry day and as I touched the paper it seemed to dry on contact. A wash was next to impossible using my waterbrush. I left it with the red wash over my sketch for several weeks before deciding to add more color and see if I could make it work. Since this scan I have actually gone back and touched up the trees some. They look better, but I'm too lazy to rescan. The sketch was done while waiting in the truck at Lowe's, during all that recent construction.

Another sketch from Lowe's parking lot, done back in Sept; and a sketch of mom's car in her garage. Never went back to paint them, but I'm not interested enough to bother with that. Maybe one day I'll get the urge.

And of course, what sketchbook doesn't start with a page like this? (for me, anyway!)

These three sketches are the first three pages of the larger sketchbook pictured above. I've also added some loose drawings that I didn't want to get lost. So far, I'm really liking the freedom I feel with these sketchbooks! (The sketches in this post were all in the sketchbook before I tore it down to make the smaller ones.)