This is John's old girl, Mel, sketched from his photoblog. Sketching her reminds me of an idea I have had for a long time. I drive around these rolling hills and often see my favorite neighboring animal friends, fenced in here and there. There's a terrific old billy goat down a dirt road I walk. And a gorgeous palomino up the road. I have a soft spot for draft horses. But my real loves, the ones I am dying to draw, are the gnarly ones. The horses with the underbites, the goats and cows with the matted hair, the bony, the unattractive. The ones who's stories are all over their faces. Maybe this sketchbook could be my outlet for that. I guess it's time to carry my camera around with me....