Last Page In My Old Sketchbook/ First Page In My New One

I rarely get to the last page in my sketchbook for some reason. Once I see that I have just a few pages left I put it down and begin a new sketchbook. It maybe that I was disappointed with my efforts and wanted to close that book and move on. The sketchbook I have been carrying for Spring- Summer 2011 has been a lot of fun to work in since I made a commitment to somehow everyday draw or paint in it.
I actually had three going at the same time- a smaller one in which I sketched on the train and a larger pad of watercolor paper. The one I had just finished I mostly used to paint in Battery Park on my lunch breaks at work.The last page is on the left. It was based on a drawing I did in the smaller pad which I use to sketch on the train.The page before it was my last, (for this sketchbook), of Battery Park.

A hot day with temperatures in the triple digits I had to tear myself from an air conditioned room to sit out in the heat. Luckily I found a good shaded spot. It was still hot but once I started sketching I didn't feel the heat as much till I stopped and had to head back to work.


The first page in a sketchbook always intimidates me. I want to keep at a certain pace where I try to out do what I did last, to keep getting better, so I want to start strong. I decided on doing a self portrait. I used a photo I took of my self for an illustration assignment. I posed as a sinister character in a short story which explains the strong, dramatic lighting and the evil look on my face. I remember that Rembrandt would draw these self portraits with different facial expressions so I didn't think it so odd. I think Rembrandt did those drawings to practice how he would do people's expressions in his crowd scenes.