I've had my share of the usual field sketches while designing landscapes for clients, but it's been a while since I've kept a field journal for myself. I kind of miss the spontaneous feel of quickly dragging a pen or pencil, in a somewhat messy, yet intentional manner, across a page to do a quick sketch of something I see.

You know, that something that catches your eye. The silhouette of a tree. The texture of a leaf. Or something that suggests a story, like a magnificent view of perfect, reeling barrels. Or that simple something to document and keep, forever archived...

One of my goals, while here in Bali, is to keep a nature journal. I have finally settled into somewhat of a routine - of basic day-to-day living, that is - and now have some time to get back into a creative groove.

This was the first sketch.

Wiwin, one of the care-takers of the property, shows up every afternoon, around 4-4:30ish to feed the fish. So, I thought to myself: Okay,  perfect. An opportunity to fill the first page of my nature journal.

Scribble, scrabble here. Scribble, scrabble there. Throw some watercolor on it. Done.

I showed Wiwin the sketch. I got a thumbs up, a healthy laugh, a huge smile, and something in Indonesian...all I heard was, "Bagus!" which means, "Good."

"Ya, you like?" For a split second, my nerves got to me, and my stomach churned a little, as it always does, when I share my artwork. I know, it's just a sketch, but still. I get so nervous.

"Ya, bagus!" Again, Winwin says, with a huge smile and thumbs up.

The image seemed to make him smile a lot, so I ended up pulling this first page out of my journal and giving it to him as a gift, "For you...gift."

He just kept smiling. I hope he liked it.