I have been drawing in sketchbooks for many, many years. I have now completed 116 sketchbooks and have begun #117. Here is a photo of all of them. Let's take a look at some sketches.......

People. I like to sketch people- there's a zillion of them and every one is different. I also find that most people do not mind being sketched.

But sometimes some folks don't like you to be sketching.... One time, I was invited to be in the audience of the Jay Leno Show. I like Jay Leno. I think he's funny. While I stood outside waiting to get in, I drew some of the other people who were on line. They didn't mind. In fact, everybody started kidding around about it. It was fun.

When we got inside and I started to draw all the cool stuff like the lights and the cameras. "This is going to be fun!" I thought, until an official looking woman came up to me and said, "YOU- stop that." She pointed at my sketchbook. "Excuse me?" I said. "You- put that away!" she said loudly. "Why?" I asked. "I said away!" she said really really loud. So I did. I wonder to this day what the problem was with sketching on the Jay Leno show.

So if you ever see Mr. Leno, would you tell him I never got to finish the sketch. And would you ask him, "How come a person in the audience can't draw on your show?"

Oh, my dog Matilda is upset because I did a cat book. Don't worry, Mattie, I am doing another dog story right now! (Sheeesh!)

This is how Mattie feels after she eats our other dog's dinner, too.

I saw this guy at the airport. I really did. Well, all right, I made up the bugs.

I went to Wyoming to travel on the Oregon Trail for a book called Mississippi Mud and made tons of sketches. We rode with a real Conestoga wagon. But I travelled mainly on horseback- it is too bumpy in a Conestoga wagon! You have to draw in a very sketchy fashion when trying to make a quick sketch while sitting on horseback.

Here's a page of character sketches from my sketchbook. The man that I turned into a mean guy in the book was actually a really nice person.

I was in New York City one day, taking a break sittting on a park bench and drawing some pigeons. They pecked at everything. I wonder if pigeons will eat old chewing gum? Ugh!

I wonder if they ever get stuck in the gum? What if they tried to eat a cigarette butt- foul!

Making a book is a lot of fun. I guess the only bad parts are the deadlines. Here's how a cowboy feels about deadlines. Do you feel the same way when a report is due?

This dog thinks that you should go to to the top of the page and click on the cover of CAROUSEL CAT....... Well, okay, maybe he doesn't. But there are a lot of cat people who have been writing me and asking me to make a cat book for a long time now.... and THEY ought to take a look!

Click here or on the book covers of AKIAK, CAROUSEL CAT, TOGO and FLEDGLING to find out how they were made!