February in Review
And what's coming up!
Hello!!
There are over 700 of you subscribed to ME - WHAT?!!!?! WOW!!!!!!!
Here’s a little welcome, hello and what is coming up!
February posts in review:
FREE: I talked about how I feel February is the REAL new year
PAID: Kicked off with a deep dive into a whole heap of drawings made in January.
A bumper paid vid.
FREE: I gifted my 11 most engaged free subscribers with a free month subscription to mark my 1 year substack-a-versary.
FREE: We said Goodbye to Dan.
Also in February -
Breakthrough Sketchbook page
I drew this Swan, hastily, in a live session with Frances Ives Patreon.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. It has kicked off an oil pastel obsession and I have ordered a bumper box of new colours off the back of this sketch. Look out for more oil pastel related content in March including an unboxing!
A snapshot of what I’ve been listening to:
Lunar Living by Kirsty Gallagher on Audible
I’ve been breaking down my calendar into 2 week chunks, and using that timeframe to plan, have awareness of what I need to do, when I need to engage in high energy work vs when to be more gentle with myself. This is working well so far: aligning my headspace to the New and Full Moon, which also respects what is going on with my cycle. I’ve shifted from expecting A LOT from myself ALL THE TIME to respecting my own rhythms more. It’s been a bit of a game changer. Seeing the phases of the moon as an inhale and exhale is a useful visual reminder of ensuring that I do the same!
Living the Artists Way by Julia Cameron on Audible
The long awaited follow up to the iconic book that introduced us all to morning pages and artist dates. I felt I HAD to listen to this. It’s a soothing, calming listen - but the bottom line is: listen to your intuition more. Simple, nothing groundbreaking, but sometimes you just need to hear stuff you already know from a wise elder. You can see I started off the year needing some woo woo! But I love it, and it helped.
Podcast: Toure Show: Amy Sherald - I painted Michelle Obama. Loved this. That’s all!
Podcast: For something fun and silly, I love The Off Menu podcast. The episode with Susan Wakoma had me falling off my chair. (with laughter).
On Substack
Distracted by
- I’m so pleased to discover Kylie Ann’s writing on Motherhood and life as a reluctant stay at home mother. There’s so much honesty and realness that I can relate to. Kylie Ann is also a talented Designer! Turns out we have worked at the same agency! She is currently offering branding packages for Substack, so check that out here if you need a refresh of your visual identity.As a Packaging Designer, I have LOVED Tin Lions by
and been enjoying Unbox Inbox which showcases packaging by category. I’m really enjoying seeing the crossover with Packaging Design and Art / Illustration here on Substack, and its sparking some ideas for what I might bring to the party this year too. Watch this space!Welcome to Substack
with his publication Creative Therapy. Steve and I worked together for years, and I’ve been bugging him to come on board the Substack train - so thrilled he’s finally done it!I’ve loved this series of experiments with values from
. I’ll be using these posts to do the same with my bumper pack of oil pastels as soon as they arrive!
Coming up in March!
FREE: Sketchbook Tour Animals sketches. I FINISHED IT! I’m SOOOOOO excited to share this one! A whole Pith Pomelo sketchbook STACKED with animal drawings. What started as a fun project to entertain my son has turned into a real love. I’m thrilled for this to be available to you all.
PAID: Munich Vlog! A little 3 part video. Part 1 – A wander around Munich. Part 2 – Materials bought and swatched. Part 3 – Sketch book share and thoughts on observational drawing.
PAID LIVE!!!!!!!: If you’re on my paid tier, you’re invited to join a LIVE session that I will be co-hosting with
on Sunday 24th March. It will be a fun one! Available to anyone on mine or Beth’s paid membership. More details coming in March.
There’s likely to be another FREE post in there too, but I’m yet to decide what that will be - so many thoughts swimming around in my head!
I love doing these end of month reflections, as it reminds me of how much I manage to do, make, think about and absorb. As I mention in the video, I will be evolving this space so there is more to share that can support YOUR creative growth. Let me know in the comments what you like, what you’d like more of and ANYTHING else that you feel compelled to share! I’m excited to get to know you all better!
As always, THANK YOU for your time and attention. It is magic to me!
Thank you, Raj for all this great content! Also a designer who draws over here, so I love hearing your thoughts on both! I'm overwhelmed by all the great substacks I want to pay for, but have been narrowing it down (can't do 'em all!) and plan to switch to paid soon to get even more of your great content!
Love the swan but the cats that you’ve been sharing really make my heart smile 😊 Thank you Raj for all that you share here, it’s always so nice to hear you (you have a radio voice) ❤️