For decades, I would want to draw. Open a sketchbook, not know what to draw, beat myself up and close it. Not drawing often feels better than drawing, or feels better than the negative feelings that come with making art. More recently I’ve collected a pile of books and other resources that I can turn to when I face an empty page. It’s like having backup against the resistance.
Today, I pulled ‘The Artist Way Workbook’ from the pile, and turned to a random page.
From it I pulled two quotes:
“Treating myself like a precious object will make me strong”.
— Julia Cameron, The Artist Way
“Trust in yourself. Your perceptions are often far more accurate than you are willing to believe.
— Claudia Black
I used these quotes to form the basis of a comic. I sketched the comic on yellow legal pad and cobbled it together while listening to music. I then cleaned it up in procreate, so that you could read it.
The Artist Way Workbook suggested a mini artist date, listening to music for 20 minutes just for joy. The comic came from listening, it was a 40 minute track and I managed to finish the comic.
It is very difficult to do something for towards for joy. For me there is a feeling to constantly be producing, for deadlines, for income, for promotion. But though I cannot articulate why, something in me knows better, something within me wants me to make comics. Today I trusted it.
I trusted that voice once before, and made comics to put online for a year.
Those comics helped me get my first book deal, it also lead me to become a children’s illustrator. Still that voice is not satisfied.
Today’s prompt is for you to listen to music for 10 minutes, and maybe listen to that voice in you if it would dare speak up. Have a piece of paper with you and capture what you hear, may this comic guide you.
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PS: I’m hosting a FREE zoom draw along where I answer questions about the upcoming retreat as well as questions about what I learned becoming a children’s illustrator at 40 sign up here.
