Simple pleasures

I really like to draw fruits and vegetables.  Not for me the soaring mountain ranges, or golden light of Italy. I am a simple woman of simple needs and I find inspiration and beauty in the everyday things that surround me.  The graceful shapes and vibrant colour of these peppers for example, make me want to draw and paint them before I even get home from the store.
Because I was having trouble photographing in the other sketchbook that was so curved and buckled, I was on the lookout for a new one.  At my last dental appointment, I made a short detour to the art supply store.  This is a Handbook sketchbook. I had heard many raves about these sketchbooks, but had never seen one sold in Canada. I liked the size and texture of the paper, and the price was good, so I took the very last one that they had in stock.  So far I like it.  It takes a wash nicely although the paper is not too thick.  It also has a hard cover which helps the pages flatten out.  It photographed quite well - not too many shadows or crinkles.  The paint is regular water-colour paints with a bit of the Inktense pencils added in.  Thank you to the commenter who told me that they are ink pencils rather than water colour.  Despite the name, i had not clued into that.