My Sketchbook

Watercolor painting of a marina scene with sailboats, palm trees, and a building. The sky is colorful, blending blues and pinks. The scene is labeled 'Alicante, Spain 2023.'

Alicante, Spain 2025

This was a sketch I did sitting at one of the cafe’s lining the marina in Alicante. It was really fun to play with the color of the water and the sky.

Watercolor painting of a seaside scene with a palm tree, lighthouse, and boats. The lighthouse has blue and white stripes, and the ocean is visible in the background.

Cascais, Portugal 2025

While sitting in the sun on a terrace, I did this watercolor sketch of the lighthouse at the marina in Cascais. The lighthouse was covered in scaffolding and construction, but with the magic of drawing, I made it disappear. Ta Da!

This sketch made with a black and white pen and ink of an elephant sanctuary shows palm trees and mountains in the distance and a close up of the elephant eye. Maruay the elephant was gentle and loved bananas.

Maruay from the Elephant Sanctuary, Thailand, 2024

A man standing in a Vineyard in the Duoro Valley in Portugal. It is fall and the olive trees have no leaves, and the vines are not yet up. The stumps that ran along the rows were fun to draw. The sketch showed the cold and wintery weather of the day

It was amazing drawing this animal while up close. My favorite part was feeding the elephants a whole bucket of bananas. Now why didn’t I draw that bucket of bananas? That would’ve been fun, too!

Dan in the Duoro Valley, Portugal, January, 2025

We were staying at a farm in the Duoro valley, in Portugal. It was freezing and there wasn’t a speck of green, but the olive trees that dotted the vineyards were doing crazy things with their branches so I still enjoyed drawing them.

Spring in Amsterdam, Williamspark weg, 2025

Okay, I know the dutch trams feature in a lot of my artwork, but to be fair, they are everywhere. The public transportation in Amsterdam is excellent. Who needs a car when you have a bike and good public transport? (that lets you bring not only your bike on board, but your dog, too!)

Saloon Cafe, Amsterdam 2025

I like to hang out at Saloon Cafe, around the corner from my house in Amsterdam. It is on a sweet little square that sits on the Liliesgracht. They also hav the best Dutch Apple Tart in the city, made by my good friend, Silvana, who makes tarts in her kitchen and supplies them to restaurants all over the city.

Fun Fact: I met Silvana my first day in Amsterdam, when I was walking my dog Murphy in the park. She was walking her dog, Jimmy. She is half Italian and we both speak Italian, so we clicked right away. That’s how I found the best Dutch apple tart in Amsterdam.

Watercolor of a tram in Amsterdam going over the Leidsebrug, Leidsebridge. There are trees on the canal side and bikes parked on the bridge. The tram has an overhead electric and a tramstop. There are shops down the street.

“Leidsebrug with #2 Centraal station tram, Amsterdam, 2025”

This was an experiment in which I used a sketchbook with ochre tinted paper and I didn’t do a sketch in pen beforehand. I like some of the soft effects that created, like the softness of the shadows under the bikes. Though it does leave a pink cast over everything. But hey, let’s call it sunset in Amsterdam!