My Sketchbook Project

Some time last year, I ordered a blank sketchbook from The Sketchbook Project. The premise is that anyone can order a sketchbook, fill it out, and send it back by a certain date so that it can be part of a big, traveling sketchbook exhibition all over the world. Sounds good, right? Unfortunately, I never got to sending out mine. I never even got past filling out anything beyond the second page of my book. I’m not surprised– I have so many personal projects left unattended and this was just another one of them.

However, I did bust out the sketchbook recently to test out some new acrylic paints I bought. Some of my old paints have dried up, leaving me with this:

Tumor-like globs of acrylic paint that jiggle when you poke them.

I really was just looking to test out my new paints so I quickly sketched on the sketchbook cover and came up with this:

I love working with cardboard– it’s so “unfinished” and not as intimidating as
a blank piece of white paper. It screams out, “I’m brown and blank! Do something with me!”

It’s basically just a doodle with color, but I like how imperfect and loose the overall look is. Might have to consider working in this loose style for future paint work– it’s fast, spontaneous, and raw in this digital age where everything is clean and perfect and polished.

So maybe the sketchbook project isn’t a bust after all. At least I have a cute, personalized cat sketchbook to use when my current one is all filled up?