Creative Recommendations for February
What I'm reading, learning, watching, and making art with!
Hi friends,
It’s time for my Creative Recommendations for February! These are just for my lovely ~patrons~ aka my paying subscribers.
Each month, I curate my favorite things I’ve been reading, learning, watching, and making art with. If you want to upgrade to receive these once a month, you’d make my day 🥰
Before we jump in
There’s two months until Earth Day and I have space for 1 or 2 more commissions. If you want a custom watercolor infographic or art made for your company, let me know. Last year was nuts and I’m planning ahead better!
If you want a climate art workshop for your team during Earth Month, shoot me a note because those times are booking up fast.
Reading
My friend Taylor Harrington recommended Stolen Focus by Johann Hari in a very practical post about how she uses a flip phone for offline days. Stolen Focus dives into the systemic causes behind our declining attention spans, especially with social media. As someone who relies on social media for work but is intentional about screen time, I found this book super helpful.
A few things that stuck with me:
The average office worker focuses on a task for only three minutes before being interrupted or switching to something else.
The average person unlocks their phone about 96 times per day. Whoof!
The author spends 3 months fully offline and shares about his experience. While I’m not planning to live off the grid anytime soon, here are a few changes I’m trying:
Keeping my phone across the room and only using it when I intentionally sit next to it.
Writing down questions instead of immediately Googling them (by keeping a notebook next to my desk).
No social media or email on weekends.
Carrying my Kindle and sketchbook so I reach for them instead of my phone.
Over the years, I’ve already implemented a lot of strategies to reduce my screen time and shared my strategies here:
Making Art With
I’m working on a big (top-secret) project right now and have leveled up my art toolkit. I bought:
A few new brushes from Princeton, my favorite brand
A paint brush organizer. This is actually a makeup brush holder. Now I don’t leave my brushes in the water and damage them (something I’ve been doing for years and just learned this is a no-no).
A new set of my favorite paints (on sale for $33!)
I DIYed an angled desk so I can work more easily. I took the lid from one of my Ikea storage bins and propped it up against a few books. It’s the perfect height and free! We love.
Learning
A few projects I’m working on require me to draw people and animals. And a lot of them…So I’m ramping up these skills and taking a Domestika course. I’m doing this one on Character Design by Patricio Betteo and the curriculum is so well-structured. I also had ChatGPT create a 3 month bootcamp with suggested books and online courses to meet my specific skills I want to learn.
Watching
I think there are 2 kinds of TV people– those who want to watch the newest thing and those who would rather rewatch their favorite shows over and over. I’m the second– there’s something so comforting knowing what’s coming next and that I’m guaranteed a laugh or a cry depending on the show. Plus I hate scary things and always have to be on guard when I try a new show 🙈
I’ve been rewatching my favorites in the background while I paint. It’s usually a rotation of New Girl, Parks and Rec, Gilmore Girls, The Office, Suits, Modern Family, and Abbott Elementary. If you have similar TV preferences, please send recs.
Listening to
My Spotify behavior is the most vulnerable/embarrassing part of this newsletter, so I’m going to hide it just for my paying subscribers…