When I go to videotape an event, I usually sit on the back row or in an aisle seat so I can easily get up and down as needed. The other day at the Creamery Arts Center, I sat in the back, only to be delighted to have the opportunity to draw some wonderful hairstyles while I was waiting for an event to start. Hair is hard to draw, so I’m working on it!

I finally realized that my constant obsession with trying new hair salons is actually research. This weekend I visited a place called Mojo Pie Hair Salon that felt a little like walking into a Tim Burton goes to New Orleans theme, and had plenty of time to do these ten pages of sketches while getting a new stripy attitude on my head.

It’s tough to draw people in motion, but sharpens the senses and makes one more observant. I came away with a lot of visual information that I probably wouldn’t have noticed otherwise.

Someone asked about my sketchbooks. I often carry a small moleskine, but my real favorite is this sketchbook by Clairefontaine (read some interesting trivia about the French company here — talk about archival! I love the story of Frankie T.)

The sketchbook fits in a medium-sized purse, and has nice white paper that scans very well. And it’s cheap, four bucks at my local National Art Shoppe.

Plus, it’s landscape. I have a theory that some people see the world in portrait and some in landscape orientation. I definitely see it in landscape. How do you see the world?