Welcome to "My Life in 5"!
I’m battling a nasty cold—or maybe it’s COVID? It definitely feels like it. Whatever it is, it’s completely drained my creative energy, along with clogged toilets, broken fridges, and the other small hassles of daily life that just wear you down. On the plus side, the weather has been glorious! September is one of my favourite months - if the weather is kind.
On Saturday, my 12-year-old daughter (Maggie) had her three best friends over for a sleepover. The house was buzzing with their energy, laughter, and enthusiasm! They made cupcakes, tie-dyed shirts, crafted soap and did face masks, which they somehow managed to rope Dexter and Stan into. They all wore matching PJs to bed (so sweet) and had a lovely time.
I’ve been able to get quite a bit done in the garden, despite the bouts of runny noses and coughing fits. I’ll go into more detail on Wednesday’s "In My Garden." But in a nutshell, I pressure-washed all the paths, relocated my three big grasses, pruned all my geraniums, and had a major tidy-up. It doesn’t sound like much now that I’ve written it down, but it’s taken me about three days of solid work - None of it was actually planned for this week—do you ever find yourself taking on random tasks that weren’t even on your radar? Oh, and whilst tidying my potting shed, I got stung by something on my neck—it was seriously painful!
On Thursday, I joined Emma on Zoom for our weekly 'One Line Wonders' session. We discussed sketchbooks and which one to use for our Daily Sketch Journal. We've been having some issues with the colour and paper quality in the Royal Talens sketchbook, so we’ve decided to try out another one we had both coincidentally purchased. Its tiny but should be fun! Check out our video !
I loved reading this the other day, I totally agree with Andrew —"I can't draw" is just the beginning. Once I started sketching, it gradually became something more and now I can’t imagine my life without it.
I've been sketching birds lately, despite the feeling I don’t do them justice. Every time I look at the beautifully detailed work of artists like Sarah Stokes, I feel like my attempts fall short. Her art is stunning, and it's easy to compare my own work to hers (and others) and feel like mine is a bit... well, naff.
Comparison is the death of joy, Mark Twain
But then —Sarah’s style, while I absolutely love it, isn’t mine. I don’t spend hours on a drawing, and I don’t usually aim for realism in anything else I create, so why am I holding myself to that standard when it comes to birds?
My garden is full of Bluetits, fluttering to and from the bird table every day. The other day, I grabbed my ink, did a quick, gestural sketch of one, and then splashed on some blue and yellow. I didn’t even bother mixing the colours. And you know what? It felt authentic to me, and I actually enjoyed it, instead of trying to recreate some “perfect” Bluetit which would never be ‘perfect’.
Then I posted a note about all the House Martins flying around my house with another quick sketch I did, and I got the most wonderful message from Emmaline Swallow and it gave me a real boost of confidence in what I’ve been doing, and it’s been such a nice reminder that creativity is about finding your own joy, not comparing yourself to others. Since letting go of that pressure, I’ve actually started enjoying the process a lot more and that’s what it should be about, right?
Thank you for reading, I really appreciate you taking the time, and I hope you enjoy seeing and hearing snippets from my life x
Subscribe to stay updated with each week's "My Life in 5" entries—simply enter your email in the box. "My Life in 5" is free to read, but by opting for a paid subscription, you'll unlock access to my entire archive. Plus, you'll have my heartfelt thanks for supporting my writing, sketching, and all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into creating this weekly journal. Thank you, as always, for reading
In My Garden 🪴
You can read my latest post here-
The Sketching Sisters 🎨
Our latest post can be found here-
Another lovely update Nikki - love that pic of Dex and Stan!!! I love your birds, perfection is over rated xx