This week, to say the least, has been difficult in more than a few ways. So during my more-brief-than-normal breakfast sketchbook sessions I worked in small daily increments on what ended up as this sketchbook page.
To begin the sketchbook page I wrote the quote from
in my sketchbook using a fountain pen. I find Tom's posts and notes on Substack refreshing. I've read and enjoyed several of his novels over the last few months and I'm currently reading his Notebook. (Here's Tom's website.)
I'm enjoying his short pleasant thoughts and am finding encouragement to keep writing down my own short thoughts in my own notebook.
Here's one of my handwritten notes from this week.
I wrote that at the beginning of the week. From there I realized I craved color, the consolation of beautiful colors. So I looked at one of my favorite books about color. It's titled Nature's Palette and it surveys nature: plants, rocks and animals and names the colors therein. Including helpful hints and resources for mixing or finding items with those colors. This book is just the soothing thing to look at when I crave color and yet am not able to go outside or do a lot of painting.
This week I liked this butterfly page most of all (again) …
… and I selected colors from this butterfly page - the ultramarine blue, tile red, verdigris green - to begin the under-painting of cat and flower shapes in my sketchbook.
In several of the following mornings I drew, using colored inks in my fountain pens, on top of the previously painted shapes. I didn't worry about perfection or building up layers accurately or anything- I just enjoyed making the colors happen on my sketchbook page. Eventually it looked like what you see at the top of this post. Here's one of the intermediate stages.
(Scroll to the top of this page to see the finished sketchbook page.)
In our bathroom we keep a selection of “read in case of flagging spirits” kinds of encouraging books. This book - “Keep Going” by Austin Kleon - was especially helpful this week. Here's the book cover followed by two meaningful-to-me pages. (And here's Austin's website.)
The above page with the quote by Leonard Woolf “I shan't come! I'm planting iris and they will be flowering long after he is dead.” may become my mantra.
And like Toni Morrison says - I will refuse to succumb! I raise my fist full of art supplies damnit!!
Here's some iris flowers from my recently published sketchbook A.M. Sketching.1
Several people contacted us privately to check in with us during this week and that added such a beautiful bloom of color to the days! Thank you all!!!
Two friends also encouraged me - probably without realizing it - when they included me and my work in their posts listing supportive community members!!
Thank you
!!! 👇Thank you
!!! 👇
After being fortified with all of the above mentioned encouragement I saw this comment…
… and thought “heck yes!!” and wouldn't it also be fun to sometimes share my own artwork that *is not* for sale? I get tired of constant sales pitches… so here for the fun, beauty and color of it: one night when putting my phone down on a chest of drawers I accidentally took a photo of the artwork on the wall and our heater in the ceiling. I thought it an interesting angle so I kept the photo.
Then I took a photo of the artwork as it is on our wall correct side up. It's a watercolor painting I did, on handmade paper that I made, of aspen trees in the Rocky Mountain National Park. My wife
and I had hiked there - and this painting was our trip "souvenir".
Please, defy all the cr*p, find and add you own colors to life, draw and write in your notebook and keep going too!! 2
(The above drawing is also from my published sketchbook A.M. Sketching.)
Here's a link to the free downloadable ebook version of A.M. Sketching. 👇
A M Sketching (G)
Here is my sketchbook “G” - all 144 pages of it - as a downloadable ebook from the button below.
Like other semi-sane sentient beings I'm on Bluesky too https://bsky.app/profile/artistclancy.bsky.social
“I shan't come! I'm planting iris and they will be flowering long after he is dead.”
How perfect is that! I’m looking out on all the snow, imagining dirty hands and garden boots! Gardening is amazing therapy.
Tom Cox is someone special! As are you. Keep spreading positivity and your talent. 💙
(Thanks for the mention… that meat loaf is now gone, thanks to leftovers!😂)
Such a wonderful post, Sue, in a week that feels extra heavy for a lot of us, around the world. Nature and a garden and butterflies are such special metaphors. You radiate hope with all you shared in this and in all you do and are. Thank you so much. Also for mentioning and showing those books. Nature‘s palettes is a must for me and Keep going sounds like such a good plan! Thinking of you and your loved ones. Big hug from Italy 💚🤍❤️.