I love the unstudied freshness of sketchbook entries. The original idea, visual impression or emotional response to a subject is captured in a way that can sometimes get lost or over-worked in a final painting. When I capture something in my sketchbook, it's like using shorthand-- I'm not worried about it looking perfect or finished. The sketch is looser and more charged with the feeling I had at the time I put it down on paper than a painting that I've labored over.
Here's some sketchbook entries over the last few months:
The Missouri River was the reason St. Joseph was founded. I always imagine what it must have been like to come upon that river for the first time, when you were trying to get further west:
St. Joseph, Missouri has some incredible historic homes :
The Hall Street mansions are from St. Joseph's Golden Age. The Bill Osgood House, 802 Hall Street, was designed by Harvey Ellis and built by Eckel and Mann in 1890 for Alfred T. Smith, a prominent wholesale merchant:
My Aunt Ruth's house in De Funiak Springs, FL where my mom grew up:
My Grandma Castle's chair was old and green and rusted through in places, so I gave it a makeover:
