sketchingspirit

Plastic Dino Sticker Applied

My blue plastic dinosaur sticker applied and in action on one of my Muji Brand notebooks.

My Rickshaw Moleskine Folio

Admittedly, I am a huge fan of the Moleskine notebook (in all sizes and forms) and recently purchased a Rickshaw Moleskine Folio to carry my obsession. Rickshaw Bagworks out of San Francisco, California makes these and will customize one for you in a variety of colors and fabrics. Besides protecting your "Mole," they hold all your important pens, pencils (and in my case a small red six-inch ruler) along with your phone, papers, or any other inspirational items you need to carry. This one is mine!

Watercolors of Choice

My constant companion when setting out on a field sketching trip is the Winsor & Newton Cotman Compact watercolor set. This simple white plastic palette box is 4×5×1" in size and easily packable. The set holds fourteen half pans of watercolor and a small field brush and I have used just this to complete most all of the pen and ink with watercolor field sketches seen here on my sketchblog.

New Sketchbook (#41)

A image of my newest sketchbook with a sticker (that helps me figure out which Moleskine is which since I have a few). This is my 4th Watercolor Mole in the large size.

New Moleskine Sketchbook

I recently filled an entire sketchbook and started a new book. The shaped vinyl sticker on the front cover was created for me by a local sign shop and is of course… the sketching spirit logo.

Colored Pencils of Choice

My colored pencil of choice is the Prismacolor colored pencil. These artists' quality pencils are from the Prismacolor Premiere line of products. They have a wonderful buttery smooth feel when applying them to paper and they are easy to pack for travel sketching.

The Prismacolor web site has some great advice for their care and for proper sharpening when using their product.

Mechanical Pencil of Choice

Paper Mate’s Clearpoint mechanical pencil in the 0.5mm point size is my favorite mechanical pencil. These writing and sketching instruments are durable, refillable, retractable, have a convenient side advance and a white vinyl twist up eraser.

I have been using these for years and have a hard time passing them up in stores. I always try to have one or two in my bag of tricks.

Sketching Pen of Choice

My sketching pen of choice is the German made Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen in the superfine nib size. This durable pen is full of acid-free India ink that is archival, waterproof, smudge-proof (when dry and it dries quickly) and lightfast.

The superfine nib comes in four colors, black, grey, sepia and sanguine. It is perfect for sketching and writing on paper of all types.

Sketchbook of Choice

My sketchbook of choice is the Moleskine brand. I am enamored with the look, the feel, the size and the way it handles with my favorite media. I have over a dozen “moles” of varying types and sizes, but most often use the large format (5.25 x 8.25 inches). Quite a few of my books are full while others are in progress.

I use a single sticker on the front cover to distinguish one book from another book. I pick up stickers when I am traveling for this purpose. The two moles here are from 2006 and 2007. The fish bone sticker is from the Trout Tree restaurant in Kenya. The Zion Utah sticker is from a trip to Zion National Park.