drawing – nataliekimNYC

why austin kleon thinks you should make some zines

If you’re looking for some inspiration to create, I highly recommend hanging out with Austin Kleon. He is a wonderful artist and also an incredibly generous one at that. Buy his books, listen to him on podcasts and find him on YouTube. I was SUPER JAZZED as he admires cartoonist extraordinaire Lynda Barry as much as I do!

I have read his books a few years ago, but decided to listen to them this week on Audible. There are countless gems but One of the things he suggests is to create with your hands and not on the computer.

The computer is not an ideal place to create your work. It makes you anxious, gives way to distraction and basically sucking the life out of you.

He also has this great tutorial on how to make a zine from one piece of paper. When I first saw it, I felt anxious (never made a zine, but really want to but it’s too much work??!!) but after I made the first one, I got lost in the process and now have a new way of creating. Thank you, Austin!

zine #1

We had scrap paper from when my printer printed out 532 sheets of gibberish. It also crossed my mind that the gibberish of numbers and ASCII characters were actually aliens were communicating with us via the my printer.

Either way, I appreciated how it adds to the weirdness of these two.

Lesson learned: Trying new things can be a lot of fun and good for your mental well bein.

A Drawing Process For Self Care

To stay sane I began artist Ohn Mar Win’s 14 Day Drawing Challenge on Skillshare on April 1st. I came across Ohn Mar’s work in 2018 where I took one of her classes and found her so lovely: gentle, kind and a generous artist who shares all of her best secrets.

We’re taking everyday household items and drawing them, creating a plan and committing to drawing every day for 14 days.

Sometimes it takes all of my effort to sit down at the table and draw but I find when I do it, there is a joyful release, no matter what the outcome. I have the satisfaction of having created something and that somehow carries me through the day.

For a brief moment I can sit and focus on something that I love to do and those moments bring me a lot of joy.

I finally get what it means to enjoy the process and not worry about the outcome.

Drawing of a brown and orange dinosaur toy.

A drawing of a controller for a video game system.

A drawing of a huge earring from Patricia Fields.

The class is actually a lot more in depth than I expected and it focuses not just on the drawing but the mindset. I highly recommend Ohn Mar’s classes. She is the perfect tone for these interesting times.

❤ Natalie

Making Room In Your Day for Drawing

As I’m leaving my apartment to take my daughter to school and I pick up my book bag packed with my work materials (laptop, notebooks, pens, etc.), I see my black 8.5″ x 11″ sketchpad and wince knowing that the extra weight will hurt my back.

I am not a lower back pain person but because I carry too much, I’ve caused my back to smart a little bit.

I know my notebook is the match that will break this camel’s back. And yet, and yet…it’s got to come along.

My days are filled with obligations, rushing around and a lot of long stints of staring at a computer screen. If I want to keep up the drawing habit and drawing my cartoons, then the sketchbook must come. Yes, I could get a smaller size but honestly I don’t enjoy drawing in a smaller sketch pad. I’m used to the 8.5″x 11″ size.

I will make the time to draw and make sure to inconvenience myself a bit to make drawing more convenient.

xo,
Natalie