22 Comments
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Suhita Shirodkar's avatar

aah , this brought back memories. My dad used to ( might still? I should ask him!) keep those books in the car and meticulous record mileage, servicing, every time he filled up petrol...all of that!

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Andrew James's avatar

Ah that's so cool. Keeping records like that is a very "Dad" thing to do.

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Alex Hallatt's avatar

A great story and excellent art, as always.

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Kerry Sutherland's avatar

I love second hand and thrift stores - you never know what treasures you'll find.

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Noreen G's avatar

Oh I love this! My Dad was one of those guys. I’m going to be searching my local second hand stores now.

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Andrew James's avatar

Awesome. My top tips: talk to the people in the shop, look in small towns you’re passing through, be willing to improvise and use something else(address books, autograph books, photo albums), keep returning to the same shops as stock rotates. Good luck and have fun!

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Kelly Turner's avatar

Agree - it's so fun to make a habit of stopping in on the road. It's also an eco(logical and -nomical) play for my kids to pick out souvenirs. Last summer in Nashville I found an almost empty journal with a cork cover. The first owner had clearly received it at a motivational conference. When I went to tear out those pages, I read them and thought, "you know what? Like Erin, I'm also positive and work with joy to serve others. I'll keep her notes." ;)

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Andrew James's avatar

Oh those kinds of artefacts from previous owners are so cool. It makes the book a real record of its entire journey :)

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Noreen G's avatar

Thank you Andrew.

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Chidanand M's avatar

Beautiful sketches.

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Carl Jackaman's avatar

From a fellow sketcher, what a lovely tale. I'm definitely going to visit an antique shop to look and ask for a quirky view to draw.

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Andrew James's avatar

Would love to see the results

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Sally Burke's avatar

What a great story Andrew, and like you we never pass up the opportunity of looking in Opp Shops. In fact when we were looking for two coffee tables, rather than pay 100’s of dollars we sourced our local Salvos and found exactly what we wanted, one $25 the other $80, but it was a better quality one. And then we see so much thrown out by people in our neighbourhood and we’re lucky enough to pick up another for our daughter’s kindergarten. I love your dedication with your drawings and to put in so much detail. Great work.

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K. Woodman-Maynard's avatar

I love the slot machine of what you will find in second hand shops too, but I had never thought to draw in there. And this is so true: "The sketchbook habit started as a way to record my life, but it turned into something that changed my life; you can’t observe what’s going on without altering it."

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Nicole Silva's avatar

Fantastic!

Love one object at a time. I know that’s how it works but sometimes overwhelming to draw what you did in the second hand shop. Thinking this way, really about everything, is the way to go!

Bravo! Thanks for sharing😊

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Andrew James's avatar

Divide and conquer is the universal strategy. Drawing, gardening, housework, learning… I’m pretty convinced it works for all situations.

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RobinPlays's avatar

I love odd books to use as sketchbooks. What a great story!

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Andrew James's avatar

I’ve found quite a few cool old books in second-hand shops. Thanks for reading.

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The Lunch Line's avatar

Thanks for sharing the story. Amazing little book. I have yet to get the courage to draw on location in public. I know it will happen someday though.

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Andrew James's avatar

Go and do it! Almost everyone is too busy with their own lives to take any notice of you. And those that do always have nice things to say.

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Jen Russell's avatar

What an amazing synchronicity! Your sketchbook pages are delightful! I'm always envious of people who can capture moments like this - try as I might I haven't been able to slow myself down enough to do it well.

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Andrew James's avatar

Definitely an unusual coincidence!

Drawing like this seems difficult, but it’s about being systematic. Divide and conquer. Keep going!

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