28 Comments

I love seeing your work and process, it's inspiring. I love writing but it is an exhausting practice. I love to both write and draw, sometimes I need one more than the other depending on my mood. I'm excited to be here in this community!

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Love your post and “the all written” out true words! Although I love all of your drawings I’d say your escalator drawing is another favorite 😍🤩

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Thanks so much, Angie!

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Sam, I love this so much, and I love the museum image.❤️😍 You say that you’re all written out, yet this post is nothing but abundance.❤️

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Thank you, Becky. I think I will make more posts with less writing and more art, at least sometimes. :)

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I struggle with that. My tendency is to focus on the flaws and not see the good parts, or the overall value.

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I hope when you look later that the good parts start to emerge.

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Loving your watercolor sketchings as that is always my go to for my daily art practice. Still and always learning and a daily practice improves our gifts no matter what we do.

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As always, I love your drawings. Amazed at how you find things to draw everywhere. I would _never_ think to draw someone's legs on the escalator! :D

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I do notice that time and distance are great art enhancers! :) I almost always am _dissatisfied_ when I just finish something, and when I come back a few hours later I sometimes thing "Oh, that's not so bad as I thought!"

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Exactly! I have told students this many times as well. When I see someone so dissatisfied or hating something, but I can see the great qualities in it, I tell them to look at it again tomorrow.

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You had me at Paul Giamotti and pipes! What a great movie! As always, I love your reflections on your(our) process of drawing/lettering. Thank you for your wisdom and art full lessons! xo Barbara H

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Thanks, Barbara. Can’t wait to see what you create in the challenge. I think you’ll enjoy it!

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The comment about one's inner critic could have my name on it. It sounds silly but I cannot draw a pine tree no matter what. Even last night I was practicing. But unlike your words last night I thought I'd improved. This morning I saw differently. It's confounding to be beaten by something it seems everyone else can do! #StoryOfMyLife. 🤔 📝🖌️🎨

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I hear you, but you have to embrace the marks you make and own them. Maybe your pine tree will be abstract, but that’s awesome. It’s so hard to remove the ideas we have in our head of what’s right or good.

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My inner critic doesn't let me get a word in edgewise! (can you believe it? 😂)

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Again, I feel you on this! Why are we so mean to ourselves?

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I know I grew up with a LOT of "constructive criticism".

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Love all these drawings. My personal favorites are the escalator and the omelette cooking chef. My family and I were in New York for a few days over the holidays and my youngest son and I went up what had to be one of the world’s longest escalators from the subway up to either Grand Central Station or Port Authority Bus Terminal (can’t exactly remember). I wish I had snapped a photo at that moment so I could sketch later.

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Take a photo the next time you take an escalator and just extend it way into the distance.. I know you can figure it out from memory with just a little reference!

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I love these. I, too, have felt overwhelmed this month....for lots of reasons...house guests/ fam visits and all (even with a little COVID thrown in...not me but two guests.) I am just now getting back to my routine and about to get back to some art. I am intrigued by your idea of considering how we think about our art after we have had time to pull away and then revisit it. And to consider what causes us to really like some pieces and why is an important part. Are we ever satisfied?? This happens to me frequently. I also have times where I look again and really don't like the page/ piece again...over and over. (that's when I have to decide to collage over or whatever.... : )

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Yeah I often close my book when I’m trying too hard or overworking something. I know that I will see it differently the next day and have a clearer idea of how to proceed.

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I love all of these but the escalator one is especially intriguing, I think because everything about it is more visually interesting than it seems like it should be: the grooves on the steps, the multiple shades of gray and silver, and the mere snippet of a person in front of you. Love it!

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It is a highlight for me as well. I really love the story I am remembering for myself in this one as well - rushing to keep up with my husband. And it was much more fun to draw than I thought it would be. I found all of the lines daunting at first, looking at my reference, but it was really soothing to create.

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Great looking work, Samantha. Enjoying to see.

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Thank you, Bill!

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Thanks ...

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Jan 25
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Thank you

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