In Part 1 we talked about what to put in a sketchbook. In Part 2 we talked about how to pick the right one. Part 3 is about what happens after, and the answer is not always what you would expect. Sometimes a sketchbook page becomes a painting. Sometimes it becomes nothing at all. Both are valid and I mean that without any qualifier attached. When it does become something It rarely arrives in a straight line. Sometimes it is the way light hit an object that I captured quickly

In Part 1 we talked about what to put in a sketchbook. But before you can do any of that you have to pick the right one for the job, and that is not something anyone can tell you upfront. It takes trial and error and paying attention to what you actually need versus what you thought you needed. I did not arrive at my system from a guide. I built it by using books until I understood what was missing. I started with a store bought travel journal. Pretty cover, structured prompt

Most people only ever see my travel sketchbooks. Those ones are a finished work in themselves, carefully observed, full of color and place. If they saw my work books they would ask if I was actually a professional artist. Fragmented. Messy. Honestly, someone would probably call them ugly. But voila. I am. I get why people freeze up with a new one though. You crack the cover and suddenly have no idea what belongs in it. The blank page problem is real, and when your feed is ful

New glasses New way of seeing I got new glasses recently. This is relevant but not in the way you'd expect. I wore them to a life drawing session in Paris with "life drawing Montmartre" ,side note highly recommend them, which seemed like a reasonable thing to do. I am a painter. I was there to draw. Surely seeing more clearly would help. It did not help. First attempt I kept trying to draw the model and the glasses were giving me every detail, every line, every distraction be