Seeing Green

Here's a recent illustration concerning "green" businesses. The editor wanted a "vibe" rather than specific illustration of things in the text. Perfect! This is an editorial client who I've worked with for about a decade. The staff has changed a lot over the years and the budgets are low but I've had a lot of freedom and I like the subject matter (environment, nature and recreation).
My sketch process: I feel tremendous tension between working for myself in my sketchbook and sketching for clients. The pre-meditated art just seems flat and forced. So I tried to sketch in manner that was as close as possible to what I'd do on my own. It's not perfect but I'm evolving along a pretty good trajectory I think.