Long time, no see.

I don't know if you're happy I don't send many email newsletters, or if you'd like more, but I find it a challenge to stop drawing long enough to do anything but walk Willa. So either, "I'm sorry," or "You're welcome," depending on your preference.

Speaking of walking the dog, I'm nearing completion of the illustrations for my next book, Walks With Willa. It's similar to my previous books in size and format, but different in that it will be 100% full-color. Not a grayscale image in the book. Also different is the concise narrative thread, more cohesive and unified than my idiosyncratic journals. Less wordy. I'm proud of it, and hope to have it available by the end of the summer.

If you've taken my workshops, read my how-to book, Everyday Sketching and Drawing, or followed my Craftsy classes, I've made some modest changes to my technique that you may find helpful yourself. For color drawings, I use only two layers of ink wash now; one light and one dark. I find that the color layer adds a lot of subtlety that too much ink wash can muddy and obscure. I've given up using white pens for highlights and "halo" effects. The pens are clunky and frustrating to use on a still-damp sketch, and learning to leave the paper exposed for white areas speeds things up and produces a less fussy drawing. I'm working faster now, with even less penciling and little concern over accuracy. Zero attention to perspective.