The amazing hippo, Griff

And other calming treats

Wow! Over one thousand people are now subscribers to A.M. Sketching! Welcome to you all and thanks for being here!! To celebrate here's one of my drawings that I did during breakfast this week.

To reintroduce myself: In this newsletter I share my daily sketchbook pages. I create my drawings in a small 3.5 x 5.5 inch sketchbook with gouache and fountain pen ink. Typically I work on one drawing over 2 or 3 different mornings. Each morning I will draw for about 5 to 10 minutes while the coffee drips in our coffeemaker and while breakfast is prepared. It takes longer to create drawings than it does to consume them (or coffee and breakfast) so I typically only post a newsletter once a week.

When I'm actively in the process of drawing and painting my sketchbook is usually held in the air over the cat on my lap as I scribble.

And scribbling is my word for it. I don't set out to make perfect drawings when I draw in the mornings. My intention is to play and find a pleasant, calming headspace with which to start my day.

I've been drawing almost daily for the last 25 plus years - so when I “scribble” it usually comes out okay. Persistent practice is always my goal not any particular outcome. All of my artwork; my sketchbook, my fine art, my artist books, my children's books, my greeting cards and mugs, my fabric designs are related to a quote I have thumbtacked to my studio wall.

I'm quite aware of the suffering in this world due to abuse, violence, poverty, injustice and inequality. I'm aware of the issues like climate change, the urgent need to strengthen democracy, human rights and civil rights. It is because I'm aware that I try to make - and share - a space for calm, kindness and lighthearted gentle whimsy. Peace and calm aren't once and done events. Like any skills peace and calm need to be practiced, daily, for mental health sake, for resiliency sake, for the sake of getting through hard times. This space to practice is what I try to create and give myself and others. Making time for calm moments within each day, no matter what the day holds, can feel indulgent, like a treat, but in turbulent times it's all the more essential.

I call my approach of art-as-practice-of-creating-calm a “Favorite Aunt's Homemade Cookies" way of being an artist. The sort of aunt who honors the need to be respected, accepted and loved as you are, who gives you space to “just be”, who makes homemade cookies and other treats but doesn't force them on you or forbid them - (I rarely put anything behind a paywall) - the treats are just there, constantly, consistently, in a jar on the counter for whenever you need an indulgent comfort. ¹

So my morning sketchbooks are my way of assembling the ingredients necesary to make treats.

Years ago my wife

J. L. Sullens

and a few friends wished aloud that I would share my sketchbooks publicly somehow. I resisted for a while because I already had plenty of projects to do but eventually I was persuaded that my sketchbooks could be a treat in themselves. So I began this Substack newsletter A.M. Sketching. Since then several of you, my subscribers, have told me that you do find my sketchbook a treat. And I'm glad to hear that! Thank you!

My corner of the breakfast table often looks like this with my paints and ink bottles strewn about.

But usually when I share my newsletter you'll just see the finished drawing.

Here's a list of some of the treats you'll find in my newsletters:

Sometimes I share my creativity methods.

Sometimes I share my fine art exhibits

Sometimes I share my coffee/tea mug designs - like the one pictured below that I made this week. I handwrote a story and illustrated it on a mug titled Friends And Everything.

So you can see the story I wrote on the mug pictured above…

Sometimes I share one of the artist books I've written and illustrated.

Primarily in this newsletter I share my morning drawings from the week, my efforts to bring the treats of calming comfort to my own mind and heart. Sometimes I even think about sharing my drawings here without typing any words at all - and I do try to minimize the amount of words - but having some context is nice.

The author

Kathryn Vercillo

interviewed me and let me answer her questions with my sketchbook pages. That was fun!

Art and Mental Health Interview with Illustrator Sue Clancy

I'm very happy you're here as a subscriber - thank you! - and if you needed a treat today I hope that you got one.

💚💚 Thank you, to all of you, for your ongoing patronage and support of my work! I appreciate every one of you! If you're a newly paid subscriber please feel free to download any or all of the 17 ebooks that I've written and illustrated which you can download and access anytime you wish from this index page.
Thank you again for being here!! 💚💚

1. FYI - I have and will continue to block and delete abusive comments from trolls that occur in my spaces. I hold firm boundaries against abuse in all of its forms whether the abuse is directed at me or at someone else. My physical studio is a place of peace and so is this personal newsletter.