My very first sketchbook...

This is my very first sketchbook. I think I bought this at B&N or something on sale which explains the bad quality. It's good for a FIRST sketchbook though.

I used a lot of magazine clippings to draw people, which is a good start for when you are trying to draw people. People & animals are the hardest things to draw. Working from magazine clippings isn't as good as working from live figure but it helps you start to learn the shapes bodies make.

Another option is using yourself as a test bunny! These seam like very basic ideas but this is how I begun my first sketchbook! It's just a huge experimental process & nothings a waste because there's always something to be learned. I totally remember laying in bed board drawing my feet!

So far you can see my first sketch book is limited in skill but you can still see a lot of creativity. I think I had more creativity then then I have now.

These two I did using india ink, I had some left over from a class & just experimented using a straw. The first tree has gold leaf on it that I found laying around. The second tree has a wash of yellow cheap watercolor paint & I did the butterfly in pastels.

I remember taking this idea from a Nordstroms Ad which had a drawing of a girl big eyes & nature stuff on her head. I really liked it so I took the idea & elaborated on it. I have things drifting off. I incorporated things I like about nature like the hummingbird & dandelion. This piece alone inspired two others. A lot of the time I look at old sketchbooks to incorporate into my recent ideas. This is the hummingbird I used to do the Aztec piece. I just like the basic but effective shape of the hummingbird I used in the original drawing.

Taking a figure drawing class helped me understand figures & the shapes they make. Which lead to more affective figure drawing.

Nature is something I'm constantly drawing. You will find nature drawing in ALL of my sketchbooks.

I don't have any writting in my first book. They've continued to get more and more personal because art is a personal act. Here are some more exerts from my first sketchbook that might be kind of intresting to look through.