Good morning and...

...welcome to my brain

Welcome to my newest subscribers! Thanks for being here! Let me pour you a coffee and give you a tour of A.M. Sketching also know as my brain. Here's a sketchbook page describing my whys and wherefores…

To practice this philosophy almost daily I draw and write by hand in a sketchbook at breakfast time during that bleary half-awake state. I draw and write whatever is on my mind - I'm not trying to make perfect drawings or write profound thoughts - I'm trying for whimsy, thoughtfulness and kindness. Keeping a sketchbook is just a gentle conversation with myself as I ease into awakening via creativity and caffeine.

On most Friday's for my free subscribers I share from my current sketchbook conversation because we all need a bit of gentle pleasantness these days.

Here's a sketchbook page from this week that I worked on over two different mornings. The first morning I ate an apple and had coffee while writing and painting in my sketchbook.

On another morning my spouse made sourdough pancakes so I happily ate those and had coffee while finishing the sketchbook page.

Sometimes on Fridays I share a sketchbook page and the related fine art painting … like this one…

…the above page led to this painting below that I've titled “Peanut Boater”.

Sometimes on Fridays you can see my sketchbook and the connections between my sketches and fabric patterns or a children's book I've created. Most typically my free Friday posts just contain a few of my sketchbook pages from the week. (My website www.sueclancy.com tells where my fine art and artist books are exhibited and sold as well as where you can get my fine art prints, fabrics, greeting cards and artist book reproductions and such.)

Paid subscribers of A.M. Sketching, at any level, are also getting my entire sketchbooks serialized in sequences and access to my archive. I have already shared my entire “C” sketchbook (see archive) and have begun sharing my “D” sketchbook.

Paid subscribers, at any level, also get digital versions of my artist books. An “artist book” is a book conceived as an art object. It reveals a story over time and space using a combination of content and art technique in a way that directly involves the viewers participation. Artist books are the ultimate mixed media: combining various artistic methods such as drawing, painting, creative writing, collage, digital media, layout, design, gluing, binding and of course storytelling.

Here's an example of one of my artist books that I've now released to everyone.

Prior to starting this newsletter galleries and museums were the only places you could see my artist books - and those were in person physical exhibits. So I've been enjoying experimenting with how to digitally share my artist books here. Sometimes I share the book via videos and still photos. Occasionally I make it a downloadable pdf file. Suffice it to say that paid subscribers at all levels get something unique from me each month.

Currently at the “Founding member plan" subscriber level I create a small (7 x 5 inch or 2 x 3 inch) original drawing, (often of a character drinking a beverage and/or reading a book) and mail it, unframed, to a physical address within the US. Here's a few examples.

A 2 x 3 inch piece.

A 7 x 5 inch piece.

Here's a look at one in progress on my work table.

I draw cats and other characters too for my founding subscribers - all of the most recent art happened to be dogs.

Some founding level subscribers have requested that I create a custom made fabric pattern or art prints - and that's been fun too!

I am also exploring the idea of doing a special artist book… or something downloadable but I haven't figured that out yet.

When you view A.M. Sketching in your browser along the top you see tabs labled “Loved books”, “Clancy art". The “Loved books” tab takes you to my Bookshop.org page where I've collected various book titles that have inspired me creatively. I'm often asked for book recommendations so this tab makes it easy to share them. The “Clancy art” tab goes to my website www.sueclancy.com that lists all the places you can find my artwork. The “Archive" tab gets you everything I've shared here on A.M. Sketching thus far.

Another housekeeping item: I do all of my own stunts, all of the artwork creation, the writing and the newsletter sharing is done by me by hand. So I do turn off my phone in order to concentrate in my studio during parts of days. I also take breaks. I go slow. This is a feature not a bug.

This is a bug. 👇

Anyway, the focus here on A.M. Sketching is lighthearted creative pleasantness shared regularly.

Thank you again for subscribing!! I really appreciate getting to share fun stuff with you!!