One sketchbook at a time.

For years I used to buy those crappy, black sketchbooks. You know, the ones with thin, uninviting pages. I would draw a few pictures - put it aside, lose my focus, then misplace it. Buy another. Then repeat..repeat..repeat. I must have 10 of them - barely filled in. I had good intentions but I just couldn't keep it going. A few years ago I decided to work in only one sketchbook at a time. And to draw regularly! That commitment to regular drawing in one place helped...and got me on the right track. (And there is a wonderful new world of high quality sketchbooks out there - more on that another time.) I find I am much happier with a one-book-at-a-time approach. I draw more often and more consistently. And I love the types of things I now choose to draw about, our travels of course, but also more mundane daily events - visitors, meals, purchases, pets, etc. And I hadn't anticipated the upside which is having a visual diary that I can flip through and remember the past few years. So I keep moving forward - one drawing at a time - one sketchbook at a time. I will try to post here more often...one post at a time.

Changes to blog - changes to life

Above is the new sub-title for my blog (well, barely a blog since a hardly ever post). Here is the old sub-title: "I have a wonderful new studio on my third floor. Nice space and lots of unfinished projects. The plan? Kick my butt out of the kitchen, off the couch, and get working. Doing what? We'll see. I'll be upstairs." Well, that was awhile ago (actually quite awhile ago). We were living in the country then, with dog, cat and kids underfoot inside and bears and deer outside.

Where are we now? Well, the kids are out of the house (mostly grown - empty nest) and we have moved to just on the edge of a small city, to a new state. We are getting used to a new way of life. There is much to inspire me here, many opportunities, more time to create and yet life frequently seems to get in the way. Or maybe it is ME that gets in the way. Either way, I need to create more, stress less. I still have a lovely studio but now it is out of the house so I need to make a more concerted effort to get there and work. Sounds like a good New Years Resolution to me!