This was a really eye-opening exercise. Rather than going back to my childhood, I selected images from my Pinterest "Art and Design" board, which I've been pinning images to for several years. I discovered a couple of things. First, a lot of the art that catches my eye is somewhat melancholy: bleak landscapes, bare trees, rain, snow, lone figures, or lone human figures accompanied by an animal. However, to me, these images don't look sad or depressing; they look quiet and peaceful and, therefore, they make me happy and content. Second, I love images created by various printmaking techniques, or by cutout shapes (paper or fabric) or masked areas--bold, simple shapes accentuated by organic lines. Lots of mid-century illustration catches my eye. Third, when it comes to color, I gravitate toward bold earth tones, and simple black-and-white images. These are the things I'm going to explore in my 2017 sketchbook!