My day as a journal sketch

I have been wildly utilizing the library links to request books on sketching that are not available locally. Which also means I have been madly reading and keeping notes as I go. One book, "Draw Your Day" by Samantha Dion Baker was loaded with lively and inspiring sketches, but not much how-to information (which is what I feel that I desperately need at this stage). But I was interested in the main premise of the book, which is that you can journal by making a two-page spread with sketches of the focal events of the day. So I decided to give it a try. 
I definitely need practice on this, but publishing my beginning attempts might encourage some others who, like me, feel that their sketches lack any artistic value. Bloggers who have posted their early attempts are the reason I took the plunge into sketching and publishing, so maybe someone will also be inspired by my sketches to overcome that insecurity obstacle.

Day 1: Technology Day. I resurrected a PDA and folding keyboard after 10 years of neglect. 
The batteries had split open and the inside of the keyboard was corroded badly.
After cleaning, it functioned! Briefly. The second time I opened it, it was unresponsive.
Oh well...

Various inks and pens on Artist's Loft journal paper.

Day 2: A Day of Birds. I guess if you look, you can always find a theme. Watching a Roadrunner follow the sidewalk is a rare treat. And the tiny bird that hit my kitchen window gave me a chance to see an Orange-crowned warbler up close. I hear them often in the willows behind my house, but rarely see them.

Orange-Crowned Warbler sitting on my porch after hitting the window.
He recovered and flew away after about 15 minutes (I actually can't tell the gender).

I swear the crows are just playing with the wind as they careen in between the houses in my neighborhood.

Crows sketched with Kuretake Brush Pen. The warbler was inked with Platinum Black and colored with pencils.
Other inks and pens were used, also diluted inks in water brushes. Artist's Loft journal paper.

I skipped sketch day that was just blah...  Day 4 includes a quick sketch of one of the local reservoirs that I visit frequently. What was up with the flies?? One of the blessings of SoCal is the scarcity of flies and mosquitoes so that I leave doors open when I am going in and out of the house. This day of the Flies was bizarre. Then I babysat my grands for the evening. Yeah, I need a lot of practice on people.

Various pens and inks, Faber-Castell watercolour pencils, pastels on Artist's Loft journal paper.

Another frequent location, my local library, has a perforated shade roof over the courtyard. A lovely arrangement with cut-outs in the shape of leaves that I failed to adequately capture. And perspective is a skill I am working on as well.

Library shade structure on top right. Personal present day! The colored pencils and inks that I ordered came in, Oh Happy Day!! Koh-I-Noor TriTone Pencils, Artist's Loft Journal Paper, Diamine Chocolate Brown and various inks, Kuretake Brush Pen

I added a Sailor Fude de Mannen pen to the pen herd and had to test it out. It was surprisingly fun to sketch my sling bag with it! I can't in any way explain my emotional attachment to my pens. It's almost as if they are like pets to me. I loved the Sailor Pen, thinking I preferred it over my Jinhao fude pen, until I wrote with the Jinhao to compare. They are different in the style of the nib, the Sailor is thinner and doesn't have noticeable tipping material. But, maybe I am getting more adept at making lines of different widths with a fude nib, I found that I liked each of them the same. The only downside to the Jinhao is that, being metal, it is heavier than I like in a pen. But the Sailor is made of a cheap feeling plastic that I don't really enjoy so that ends up being a balancing factor.

Sailor Fude de Mannen pen on top, with included Sailor Black cartridge ink.
Shading on backpack is Noodler's Lexington Gray in a brush pen.
Text and box on the bottom was a comparison with my Jinhao x750 fude nib pen.
Ink in that pen is Lexington Gray also. Pens colored with various inks and pencils.
Exceed 100gsm journal paper