What do you do for yourself when you are feeling things you don’t want to feel or your mind is swirling in circles?
Drawing without looking at the page has been my lifesaver. I try to do it most days. It gives my hands something to do and stops my brain from focusing on all the things that can go wrong. I have to look, really look, if I want to be able to capture any essence of the true shapes of what I am looking at.
This is the train version: instead of mindlessly scrolling my phone, I have a sketchbook and pen in hand. Each time the train stops, I choose a part of the vegetation I can see out the window and I sketch it fast, without looking at the page. When the train moves again, I keep close my eyes and keep sketching it from memory as best I can. Then I stop and wait for the next stop to do it all over again. I draw all the snippets on top of each other and they become a collage of scenery.
What used to be a frustrating journey has now become one of my favourite parts of my day to day life, a holiday from the noise of my brain and social media notifications.
Maybe this is something you could try? Let me know if you do! I would love to hear how you go! A sketchbook is nice but the back of a receipt and a biro also does the trick!
You can also book to come on a drawing date with me, where I will share my process and my art materials, and we will draw side by side. Info and bookings here.