I am retired and living in Pasadena, CA.

When I was a teen, my parents recommended majoring in something practical, not art. Over the years I did crafts of all sorts to fill the creative urge. When the kids were older, I discovered Betty Edward’s book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, and began drawing again, eventually taking workshops, and discovering sketchbooks in the how-to art section of a local bookstore.

Sketchbook art became my favorite practice because the styles, methods, and mediums were varied. The artists drew on a stained page, added watercolor or pastels to pen and ink, or used collage for color instead of paint, and their lines were loose and confident. These artists knew the “rules” but didn’t need to follow

them in their sketchbooks--practice was more important than perfection!

The internet led me to online classes and sketchbook artists, including Joseph Stoddard, Brenda Swenson, Roz Stendahl, Kate Johnson, and others. Eventually, I

found the Sketchbook Skool courses where each artist used similar materials but had different methods, approaches, and styles.

My current passion is combining methods and materials, such as doing observational drawings on gel-printed, pastel-smudged, or water-colored backgrounds. Varying sketching practice by changing mediums, paper, or tools, and making my own sketchbooks keeps it interesting. I’ll try any medium or tool, but I most often use pen or brush and ink, monoprinting (acrylics), collage, and watercolor.