"I became interested in photography when I found my own sketching was inadequate." (--Ben Shahn)

I'm slowly starting to fill in the sketchbook. Since I'm with my dad and pretty much indoors in this brutal heat, I'm focused on inside images for now. My sister's place has a nice back screened-in porch, and so I'll sketch some out there before the sun hits that part of the yard. (These 2 blue birds above were perched on a side table out on the back porch. I think they're from the National Geographic Society.)

This is actually great fun: since this paper is so flimsy, and it's definitely NOT meant for watercolors, it's making me very loose. I guess I definitely can't make things perfect to begin with, so I'm just plopping the paints down! Journals are very good exercise for that reason alone, aren't they? (This wall, in real life, is far more attractive than this sketch!)

I'm sure you can see where this paper has buckled all over the place from these photos. But in person, it's not that bad, and it's still just kind of fun. I've decided that I'll put some nice lettering through it, saying that "This is not a sketchbook," but that it "IS a visual diary," and things of that nature...

In the meantime, it's keeping me from worrying too much about my dad if I can focus on other things like sketching, and doing some work on trip-planning for Duke, and finding some good things to cook! (My sister made all sorts of curtains and valances for her house and this is one room with a window I love. Her home is very bright and sunlit. That blue is not accurate at all...)

"You can't do sketches enough. Sketch everything and keep your curiosity fresh." (--John Singer Sargent)