"Golden" photo

Golden slumbers kiss your eyes, Smiles awake you when you rise.

-Thomas Dekker

"limbs" pen

In this dry winter day a tree shows use her bones freely.

"36957" pen

Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.

-Rabindranath Tagore

"Falcon Shield" acrylic paint

This was part of a demonstration of a coat-of-arms for my students. We discussed the things that can describe us. How do symbols show us meaning? How to motto's help us to live right?

"Peregrine en Blue" watercolor

I found a picture of a small peregrine falcon with these intense blue feathers and beak. I thought I would try it as a watercolor to make as a gift.

"Doodle Do" scratch board

"A rooster crows only when it sees the light. Put him in the dark and he'll never crow. I have seen the light and I'm crowing."

-Muhammad Ali

"La fille et un garcon" pen

A couple more meeting sketches. I really do pay better attention to speakers while I draw.

"Starlet" pencil

My daughter found these sun glasses while at a store and then she gave me the perfect pose. The expression on her face makes me laugh every time. This is about 36" x 24", so it took a couple days to complete.

"Round" pen

Just a doodle from a meeting.

"Ponderance" acrylic paint

The first post for a new year. This is just a funny little painting that I actually did awhile back, but it needed to be posted.

"Winter from Promontory Point" watercolor

"Practice is the best of all instructors" Publilius Syrus

This past year of making drawings, paintings, and photographs each day for this blog has been about practice. I have learned that practice does not make perfect, rather it is about discipline. Just like any athlete, any artist must try, each day just try.And believe me that it has not been easy to come up with something each and everyday, but it had to be done. I have learned that the art process is about doing as much it is about thinking. One may have many thoughts and ideas, but it is all for not if one does not act upon it.

2011, what will it bring for Sketchbook J? Well my goal is to still try to do something each day. But I will be more prudent in what I post. Too much of what I have posted has been garbage, something done just to get it done. That means that I may not post each day, maybe only a few times a week. Just what I feel is worthy to put up on the web. I hope that this will improve the quality of my work, just not quantity.

I do hope most of all that people will still stop by Sketchbook J and see what is up, comment on what works as well as what doesn't.

I suppose that my wish for now is that we may all have something to practice, to learn from, to create, and to look forward to in this new year.

God Bless.

"King" pen

One more day left in 2010. I am almost there to a years worth of sketches in my book. I felt that a lion was appropriate for today.

"29" watercolor and pen

"Secretary Feenix" pen



















This is an attempt to play around with a mythical bird.

"Sheep" pen

I did some animal doodles, this one made the post.

"Perrin" pen

"Noel" watercolor and pen

"But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart."

Luke 2:19

"3 gifts" pen & color pencil

"Pere Noel" pen

I found an old French post card with Papa Noel on it. He looked like a monk who missed much more meals than our Santa Claus.

"Angel of the star" pen

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth