Black Sketchbook I, 1957-1958

There are six individual sketchbooks. The earliest of these is an autograph book which was used as a sketchbook dating to 1952. It contains early exploratory drawings of human figures, as well as some notes on constructing landscape scenes. The next notebook is a large sketchbook from 1957 with basic figure drawings and sketches. There are 3 black sketchbooks that form a series, the first of which comprises Parsons’ trip to New York in 1957 to view artworks by modern masters. In this notebook Parsons documents the various places that she visits while on the bus going from Portland to New York. She takes notes on the artists that she views, and she depicts the landscapes that she passes. The later half of the notebook consists of her observations after returning from the east coast. There are portraits of family members and several Oregon landscapes. Notebook II dates to 1959 and documents several important transformations. The people depicted in her previous sketchbook have aged, and the toddler from the end of Notebook I is now 3-4 years of age. The sketches are of landscapes and intimate portraits of friends and family. Notebook III can be dated to the early 1960s. There is a large section of minimalist line studies of characters in motion in anachronistic dress.