Sir Buttermore appears on the toast

And other sketchy projects

I woke up thinking about toast. We have both sourdough bread and French bread available. But it was comfortably warm (even toasty) under the bed covers. So I stayed where I lay and remembered a visit to a kitchen gadget store where we saw things to toast bread with that would leave an image of Mary or Jesus or some saint on your toasted bread. My wife and I had laughed and laughed when we saw those gadgets. I enjoyed remembering our laughter. Then I sleepily wondered why they didn't sell similar image-on-toast gadgets with animal themes. I mean what kids, of any age, wouldn't like a hedgehog, a duck or a rabbit on their morning toast?

Bread crusts cut off of course.

Still half-asleep I wondered if, during the allegedly-animal-worshiping-cave-painting days of humanity, if people back then “saw" animals on their toast. Oh wait, they probably didn't make toast. Or bread come to think of it. Then I was awake trying to remember when yeast-bread was first invented…

Then I got up… and that's how this new morning drawing in my coffee rings and spills series came about.

During another morning I woke up remembering the time we visited our local public library and watched some Buddhist monks carefully, patiently, slowly, create a peace mandala by pouring colored sand in patterns within a circle using tiny cups. Turtles are an animal I associate with patience. Patience seemed a good thing to think about so I began this sketchbook page which I'll continue working on for several more mornings.

That's generally how my thinking goes prior to my morning sketchbook play.

Here's an aerial view of my corner of the breakfast table. Yes, I took this photo before I'd done much on my turtle page.

There are bare spots of table that hold coffee, breakfast and the art supplies in active use. My sketchbook is small, 3.5 x 5 inches, so I hold it in one hand and draw in it with the other. The book is usually held, hovering, above a lap dachshund. Sometimes it's held above a cat. Sometimes above both a dog and a cat. Most time it's held above a dog positioned like this …

Now you know, generally, how all of the sketchbook pages in my newly published sketchbook “A M Sketching- drawing done at breakfast” came into being. Here's my recent newsletter with the ebook version of my sketchbook in it.

Another odd thing about me is that I like cups. I like the local coffee shops that have racks with a variety of cups to choose from before I order. I like the cup section in the kitchen gadget stores too. My usual morning cup (see the cup in the above photos) is a handmade ceramic mug my wife and I got more than 25 years ago from an artist at an arts festival. Sentimental value here so I'm not changing my cup. But I like to look at cups and I like to make them… Here are a few I've made with some of my morning drawings on them from my new A M Sketching book. (Each of these cups, and 20 others, are on my Zazzle shop here.)

Smell the coffee mug

Coffee Ring Crow Portal mug

We need a little joy regularly mug

Below is a mug with one of the drawings from my last published sketchbook titled Another Sketchbook. I'm including it here because this time of year I find that it’s a good reminder.

Inhale exhale morning mug

I hope your weekend is full of good shit.

P.S. if you're a paid subscriber you can find and download both of my published sketchbooks from an index of eleven (so far) of my written and illustrated ebooks here.