About a year ago I started keeping an illustrated journal. It’s just a simple watercolor pad sketch book, about $5 at the local art supply store. I love it because it’s watercolor paper and I can paint on it, draw with pencils, markers, pen and ink, I can write, I can do mixed media collage, and then repeat. And the thing about keeping an illustrated journal is, it’s not for finished art to sell. It’s really pretty private, just a place to start ideas. It’s not about showing it to people. It’s about having a place to record thoughts, plans projects, ideas, etc, and then illustrating them. My winter morning routine involves going out to the studio, starting the fire in the wood stove, feeding the cats, and then opening my journal to a new page and giving it a fresh wash of watercolor. It just gets the juices flowing, so to speak, to get some color on a plain page. I don’t even like the a...