Let Me Tell You About Some Recent Drawings
Home is where the cats are / Question for subscribers
Having two cats at home is a brilliant source of entertainment. Since they’re indoor pets, with a lot of energy to expend they spend a large proportion of their waking hours chasing each other around the small cottage where we live.They dash at lightning speed over the furniture, while somehow managing to avoid destroying the ornaments. They leap high and fast, back and forward for hours, appearing to enjoy tormenting each other, but thankfully they always manage to get over their differences.
At some point each day I’ll find them snuggled in together, at the end of the bed, or on top of the wardrobe. My camera roll is full of them. I’ve been using some of my favourite images as source material. I’d prefer to draw from life but the cats won’t hold a pose for long, so make unreliable models.
The one with both cats together above is the first drawing I’d done in a few weeks. I’m glad to be in the right frame of mind again. So much going on in the wider world and closer to home was depleting my ability to concentrate, but it’s spring now and I feel the possibility of change for the better. As I write, I’m sitting on the garden bench. It’s peaceful and there’s confetti made of white cherry blossom billowing and landing on the fresh bright green, dandelion speckled grass. At this moment life is beautiful, which just shows what a few days away from social media can do.
For so long I’ve wanted to draw more and this week I’ve made a start. Drawing focuses my mind and helps anxious thoughts subside. It’s hard to explain what I get from drawing. It’s not exactly easy but the challenge of capturing something on paper feels really worthwhile and comes naturally, in a way. A very different experience to writing, which takes lots of effort, and rewriting. It’s not unknown for me to spend an hour writing a basic caption on social media, or replying to a message, because I struggle to transform thoughts to words and condense my naturally long-winded style.
But still, I feel the urge to communicate… and writing on Substack has many benefits over attention seeking/draining social media. (I had a whole rant about Meta inserted here but I’ll save you from that). What I will say is, it’s no coincidence that I’ve found the time and focus to draw in the week that I left my phone in another room! My goal of abandoning Facebook and Instagram for good is one step closer. It just shows how distracting it is, when I’m even wasting time thinking about it when I’m not on it!
So, getting back on topic. These are on A3 size white cartridge paper, drawn with willow charcoal, with some compressed charcoal for the darker lines and some grey and white soft pastel highlights. I often use a piece of putty rubber to remove the charcoal and create highlighted areas. Recently, I thought I’d try out a battery operated eraser but so far I’m not convinced. It’s very hard to control - so fine for rubbing out big areas, no so good for precision highlights. Maybe I haven’t mastered the technique yet so I’ll give it another go.
I’m looking to express my cats unique characters and how they relate to each other and to me, so although they can be cute at times, they are more often fierce, indifferent or sleepy.
There’s no plans for these drawings yet. They will probably appear in my shop at a later date but I want to build up a few before I decide where I’m going with them . If you see one that you like I might be open to selling, give me a shout!
Question For Subscribers
If you’re a subscriber (thank you!) you might be wondering why you’ve received this today and not on Monday morning, which is when I usually post. There’s no real reason apart from I’d actually written something (it’s been a while) and Monday seemed a long way away. What I’d really like to know is does it make any difference to you when it’s sent out? Is there a day of the week or time of day you’re more likely to read a newsletter? I know Sunday mornings are popular - that’s when I read my favourites. Often I save up a few that arrive during the week so I can read them at my leisure. Is that something you do too? Let me know in the comments please.
That’s all for this time, have a great weekend!
Julia
So impressed with your drawings of Melba and Marco, Julia. I really did wonder at first if they were by some famous artist like Rembrandt. They are so beautifully rendered.
Your thoughts on writing are similar to my own so that I hesitate to write at all, even now, but you come through with such clarity and I do appreciate your insights.
As for timing your Substack posts, it could be anytime as, like you, I save them to read when life slows down.
These are absolutely beautiful drawings!