Pile of some of my sketchbooks or journals I have filled over the years.

I wanted to come up with something that would entertaining to my readers but still show the behind the scenes of what it is I do. So, what I have come up with is Sketchbook Bingo!

Over the course of my career, I have always kept a journal or small sketchbook with me. It’s what I use to put my to-do lists in, as well as logo concepting/sketches or jotting down ideas when I wake up in the middle of the night. The concept here is basically to randomly pick a current or previous sketchbook, and just flip to a page and show it here. Then I would just write what my memories are of that particular page. It might be something relating to a client project or it could be something that one of my kids drew when they snuck the book away from me. Whatever it is, I thought it would be somewhat entertaining, and also give you a glimpse of my process—even if it isn’t always directly related to my work. Mind you, some of these sketches may seem rough, or unfinished. These aren’t supposed to be finished illustrations. Just ideas and a little fun.

So I present to you the fist ever Sketchbook Bingo!  This one is from a Journal I kept during mid 2006 (I think). This sketch was actually an image from a coffee mug I was using while visiting my wife’s grandfather in Tucson, Arizona. He was 90 at the time and was an active and amazing man. He has since Past away just this year at 97(may he rest in peace!) I remember I was sitting at the dining room table and drinking coffee and eating breakfast with my daughter, who was 4 at the time. She was coloring with her crayons. I thought I’d try to do some more intricate shading and coloring not normally found with crayons. It turned out pretty good. We did several of these in what I like to call my “Crayola Phase”. Hahah.