For a while I was posting something new every single day. It looked productive from the outside. From the inside, I was running on empty, making work to keep up instead of making work I cared about.
So I slowed down. I picked one morning a week, Tuesday, and gave it to a cup of coffee and one sketch. No pressure to post, no rush to finish. Just ink, paper, and whatever showed up.
Why one sketch matters more than seven
When you only make one thing, you pay attention to it. I noticed I was looking longer before I put the brush down. I let the ink pool and spread instead of fighting it. The drawings got looser and more honest, and honestly, they got better.
Most of these Tuesday sketches are figure studies in ink and a little watercolor. Quick, gestural, mostly about how a body holds weight or how light falls across a shoulder. They’re the closest thing to a diary I have.
The coffee part is not a joke
Ritual helps me. The smell of the coffee, the same mug, the same spot at the table. It tells my brain it’s time to paint. If you’re stuck, I’d really recommend finding your own version of that. It doesn’t have to be coffee. It just has to be yours.
Where the sketches go
The people on my email list always hear about new work first, sketches included. If you want that, you can join Letters from the studio. One email when there’s something worth sharing, never more than that.
Thank you for slowing down with me.
