sketching in kenya

I carried a big hand.book sketch book with me on my month-long stay in Kenya and sketched all the time. Although there are several on-line reviews dissing this sketchbook, I found the paper quality fine for my Sharpie and paints, and I loved the large format. The cover boards were durable, although now ingrained with Kenyan red dirt, and withstood the abuse of being carried in my backpack. I’ve scanned a few of the drawings to include here.

The flight from Nairobi to Kisumu, sketched above, was under 30 minutes so I had to work fast! For the next two glimpses of Matangwe, red hard soil, red rooves, red dust, I sat in the shade of a tree and sketched. Same for the next pictures in the Kakamega Forest, a wonderful IBA preserve where we stayed for a few days with a group of students and teachers. The final drawing is in the Nairobi Airport where I had a seven hour lay over–but a good latte, the first in weeks, and a sketch book go a long way to making the time pleasant.