More Sketchbook Pages.

In living history encampments, I noticed I had nothing really to do between drills but sit there, talk and eat.  I wanted some old-timey activity I could do that I wouldn't mind spectators watching.  So this idea of keeping a sketchbook is pretty cool. My pencil holder is no bigger than a cigar case and fits easily in my trouser pockets. The sketchbook itself is only slightly bigger than four by six inches, and I can stuff it in just about anything without taking up too much space.  I also tend to draw in it on rainy days at home the week after an event.

First, here's what the cover of my little sketch journal looks like. The newsprint is actually a paper gift bag from Hagley Museum.  Next time I visit that place I should probably ask for a few extra gift bags. I just love the old advertisements.

Above, the title page. This is hand-lettered. I know my letter spacing isn't perfect, it gets crowded near the end of the page, but it looks like I'm trying to mimic typeset and printed letters, which I am.

 

Above, two new sketches. Those are the best people you will ever see me draw. I had to use a photo for a reference, it was a firing line of one of the New York infantries from 1st Manassas.  They wore the bright red fireman shirts with the shield-shaped "plastron" beneath the collar, visible on the man standing second from the right.  Below, my accouterments as arranged on the floor of a house where I spent the night.

Most of my sketches made on-site will be of everyday objects used in camp, or maybe unusual tent configurations.  I'm not one of those sketch artists that can quickly scribble out a battle unfolding in front of me, I also can't draw people or animals without a photo reference.  But still, it gives me a way to challenge myself and work on my neglected pencil drawing skills. I'm trying to avoid anything in the drawings that would make them look inappropriate to the 1860s period.

There will be many more to come!