I’ve dabbled in fine and creative arts through the years but I lacked the discipline to keep a sketch book. I often tried but the habit never stuck. In January of 2022, I changed my approach. I bought a small book and challenged myself to make marks within those pages – doodles, scratches, whatever. My only requirement was that these marks had to be done daily and it didn’t matter if it took 20 seconds or 20 minutes. I focused on the process and not the result.
The first few pages in that first book were doodles, literal marks on paper. Those doodles reminded me how much I loved pen and ink and I began to experiment with different fountain pens. Then I began to sketch my pets, and before I knew it, I felt compelled to sketch daily. As of this writing in June 2024, I’ve completed 13 books filled with sketches of my dog, cats, urban and travel scenes. I have at least three active books of different sizes and paper type to fit whatever strikes my fancy.
I continue to sketch everyday and I post my daily sketches on my Instagram stories. Below are some of the sketches I’ve done since I first started this experiment in 2022.
