Sketchbook: The Necklace Video Trailer

Sketchbook: The Necklace Video Trailer. The week started innocently enough, a Sunday stroll through Camden Markets on a beautiful day. I was looking for a necklace, but wanted the right one to find me... I think that necklaces have to match your internal energy. Needless to say, I couldn't find anything until the right one was mailed to me from Amsterdam one month later. Made by a fairy, and a gift of friendship, I had no idea what I was getting into when I signed up to stay for a mere two-day layover in Noodjwick...

Graciously added to this fantastic list of online sketchbooks!

Richard in Noodjwick

Richard in Noodjwick. I know that I'm in the middle of the Lost Summer Sketchbook series, but Richard just sent me this picture. I had forgotten what it looked like. And honestly, the story is just too crazy to pass up.

It was April, 2007. I hadn't talked to anyone in three dark London months. So, when spring came, back to Amsterdam I went. Actually, Amsterdam was just an aside for a few days until I caught a plane to Barcelona. Or so I thought...

Let's just say that:
a) I never went to Barcelona. Instead, I spent two weeks chillin on the back porch of a surf spot in Noodjwick talking to some of the coolest people ever (all detailed in my sketchbook, "The Necklace"). One of whom was Richard. Don't ask about the night Richard, Buddy (the only nineteen year old fisherman from Alazka I've ever met), and I had our own collectively seperate adventures...
b) From New Zealand, Richard just happened to be walking down the street in Cheshunt a few weeks later, the very same night I met Maria. He had just moved to London. Needless to say, several adventures ensued (including my introduction to Mexico City).
c) As I just re-discovered this drawing, I just happened to be listening to the Manu Chao song that kept playing over and over during the entire two weeks.

Hmm. Coincidence? Or, a confluence of events that makes me shudder in the shadow of it's significance...

Market Square and Potter Street, Bishops Stortford

Market Square and Potter Street, Bishops Stortford. My first experience with gouche in seven years. Recently landed and living by the grace of two nice Australians, it was August 4th. I had just come back to England from visiting Germany and the Netherlands. For all those people who were wondering, this drawing begins the "Lost Summer" sketchbook...

The Red Light District at Night

The Red Light District at Night. It was one of my last drawings from 2006, a day before the new year. I was laying in my bed, peaking out the window at 3am. Last night, I was having dinner with three Romanians. One is an air-traffic controller who lives in the Netherlands, and he was telling stories of the red light district...

It's funny how two people can see different views of the same thing.

A Scooter in Amsterdam

A Scooter in Amsterdam. Sitting in a cafe, watching people walk by... In front of me was a scooter, parked beside a canal... I drew this scooter while outside, having coffee. The canal had walls made of red brick.

A Boat in a Canal

They must have thought I was crazy, climbing under a fence and balancing on a concrete pillar that separated the canal from the street... There is a beautiful light in the Netherlands.

A Row House in Amsterdam

A row house in Amsterdam. It was my first experience in the Netherlands, mid-October, 2006. I was cold, tired, hungry, and loving every second of being there. The green dumpsters in front of the house epitomize what I love about the Netherlands: good design, even for the unsightly.