Sketchbook Vol. 1 (Molskine)

The beginning... sort of

Ok, let’s start at the beginning… Well sort of the beginning.

Here is a shot of what came before that.

Notebooks and ephemera from 6th grade (1996-1997) to my first year of college (2004-2005). These books will remain in this box until either my children throw them away or my own personal art historian documents my life.

The "sharable" beginning starts when I first stumbled upon a Moleskine display in a Flax art store in Boston in 2005. I was captivated by just how right it felt to open and hold. This was a notebook small enough to be unobtrusive but large enough to fill with inner worlds.

I think Moleskine notebooks hadn't been as widely available at this point. It felt like something imported from a quaint bookbindery in the Alps, a notebook used only by deep thinkers and authentic vagabond geniuses. Or maybe I just never noticed them before.

At any rate, I was captivated by this little book. Between honing my art skills, broadening my mind, and finding out just how much I could drink, I took every spare moment I could to draw in this book.

Materials used:

Moleskine Notebook, Radiograph 3x0/.25, Parker ballpoint pen, Tria Markers (now discontinued), whiteout pen, Non-photo blue pencil, Graphite pencil (probably 2B), Brush (sable series 7 size 0 or 1 probably), Black Star Ink.

Above: This is the very first page of this book. On the right is a partial copy of a Norman Rockwell painting, the title of which escapes me. On the left is a caricature of Samuel Beckett done by David Levine. If you don't know his work, look him up; he's amazing.

Above: Some cafe drawing capturing Mr. Carlson (overheard at the time by a student of his). A self-portrait in pencil from a photograph—yes, I am stoned in this picture. A copy of the master himself, R. Crumb. A drawing of Mr. Buttface, whose nose is a turd

Above: Two drawings of high school friends, doodles, experiments with whiteout, a quote from my then friend, now wife.

Above: Meandering doodles; I love to draw barf for some reason. A bad drawing of my then girlfriend, now friend—I made her look like a frumpy man. A note to self about my drawing frustrations and someone holding corn.

Above: I recall drawing this page right after review boards (the art school version of finals). It felt so good to just draw for fun. This is still a dilemma—to find the fun in my work. It's always the goal, but it can be hard. Sometimes you gotta dig ditches to get to the good stuff. It's all so elusive, but sometimes you are captivated by the act, and it just takes you on a journey. It's the whole reason I'm still looking for... whatever it is.

Above: A half-baked idea for a children's book about Hank—a drawing copied from Slop Analecta by Dave Crosland and Debbie. What if you had chainsaw hands?

Above: Assorted drawings from photos, mostly old National Geographics.

Above: My first hangover, the first of many. Long story short, got too drunk, then the next morning I woke up to overhear, through the wall, my friends' roommates talking about that drunk idiot who barreled into the house looking for Sam. "And then he just went upstairs without saying anything else, what a weirdo." That weirdo was me, and I was staying with these guys for the weekend. Ah, to be young. Also, some of my first drawings of The Terror Bears, a comic I eventually finished after working on it on and off for years.

Above: I used to teach theater to kids every summer. This is a page of doodles I did of the class as their characters in The Wizard of Oz. I don't like any of the drawings on this page, but I do appreciate the spirit of it. It also acts as a bookmark of this part of my life. I love that sketchbooks offer a glimpse into our past selves, even if the content is not something you particularly like.

Above: Two of my bros, copied form photographs.

(Sorry if some things are spelled wrong or I use wonky punctuation. I can draw pretty good but Im dyslexic so bear with me)

Here is a link to the video tour of this Sketchbook. if you still want more.

thanks for looking

-AZ