Winter is the time I hunker down and wrap myself in my imagination. I brew up stout, steaming mugs of tea, pile up old photo albums and dog read magazines, then draw long-forgotten faces and wrinkled views of distant, sunny lands.
But, ahhh, Spring is finally nigh and I can creep out of my burrow to re-engage with the world. It’s high time to stop Google Imaging inspiration and dust off my folding stool, my portable palette, my rucksack full of pens and pencils.
I buy a fresh new sketchbook. It’s a Leuchtturm1917 Medium Hardcover, 96 pages of 180g Brilliant White Paper with a scandalously, shockingly pink cover. It’s just perfect to record Easter and cherry blossoms, Peeps and newborn bunnies.
I may not use a single, dreary, scratchy black pen till summer.
Instead I’ll draw with highlight markers and pastels. I’ll grab pigment sticks and the softest, plumpest watercolor pencils Caran d’Ache makes. I’ll splash around dazzling spring showers of Dr. Ph. Martins Radiant Concentrated Watercolor. I’ll collage with felt and downy feathers, press jonquils between my pages.
In Spring, my sketchbook is reborn. And with it, so am I.
***— Danny Gregory***
