Back from vacation with a big idea for you!

And for this, I need your help!

Hi everyone,

This is already September. I don’t know if you enjoyed the summer but for me it was a mix of rest and thoughts about my business. I took the time to step back and think about what I want to do with my work. And as I was driving one day, I started listening to the book Atomic Habits, from James Clear. Perhaps you know it as it is really famous if you try to know more about routine and habits.

And listening to it came to my mind something really interesting: I need to draw everyday. I mean, not for clients, but for me.

I did that 30 days of lettering challenge in July. As usual I enjoyed it A LOT. And to be honest, I missed it when I stopped beginning of august. I wanted to continue it. And when I listen to James Clear explaining how good habits work, I could see that my challenge became a kind of daily routine I got used to, and I missed it when I stopped.

So why did I stop? That is a good question, and it brings another: why not doing it everyday, all year long? Or at least for a year? What about a 365 days of lettering challenge?? I don’t know if I would have ideas for such a long time but I would have the time. And I would have the time because I learned to make space for my challenge and I could keep that moment during the day. I mean I need that moment in the day.

This week I also watched a Zoom session between two people I really admire: Beth Pickens, author of the great “Make your art no matter what” and Austin Kleon, famous for his book “Steal like an artist”.

Art advice with Beth Pickens

And I won’t detail here their fantastic talk but something they said did hit my head: Artists suffer when they don’t do their work. And that is exactly my case! If I spend the day doing admin, emails, laundry, grocery shopping, driving kids I don’t know where, but not doing any letter, I suffer.

So it does comfort what I say above: I need to do draw letters for me each day. All year long. And I am still figuring it out but for sure I am going to do it. I need it. I just need to not be overwhelmed by the idea haha :D

So for the next weeks, I might write a lot about habits, routine, taking space and time for yourself, etc.

What about learning together how to make art each day?

That kind of discussion brought something else to my mind. When I started my Lettering challenge in July, I received messages from many people who literally said: “ I would love to do a challenge, or find 15 minutes to draw each day, but I have no time and I don’t know how to organise myself to do it… :("

I totally believe that spending each day sketching, even for a short time, is a great tip for a better mental health but also to get better at your art. And I have some experience on the subject. So I decided I wanted to create a place where people can meet and chat about creativity and daily routines.

On the first of October starts the Inktober challenge.

inktober

A post shared by @inktober

This is a great opportunity to start a challenge or a habit. Take a word each day and draw it, or the idea around it. Each day is planned, you just have to show up, get a pencil and a piece of paper. And to help you do it, to be there when you struggle, hesitate or don’t know how to deal with it, I would like to create a Discord. I would like to invite you on a platform, a really simple platform with one salon maybe, where we can chat about doing the Inktober challenge, or any other challenge if you prefer. But a place where we share our views, fears, experience, etc.

What do you think? Would it help you to start creating each day? Or at least for 30 days? Would it be helpful? Would you go there?

I did not decide yet because I want your feedback about that first (thanks Thibaut for the idea). I don’t want to launch a big thing. But just a simple place, outside of social medias, where we can chat and create a kind of community that helps each other to achieve something.

I really believe drawing everyday changes A LOT your creative life, and that it is a really good start to feel better about your work and your talent. So help me take a decision by answering that simple question:

The question is pretty simple. If you all say “nah” or “meh” I won’t create that space, and that’s ok. Also maybe you have another idea than building a Discord which might sound overwhelming? Please leave a comment so we can discuss any other possibility.

I spent most of my working life trying to organise it better, be more productive (meeeehhhhh) and I would have loved to have such a space where I can share my doubts and struggle. And I really believe in the group effect.

Note: That Discord would be open only to the people who are subscribers of my newsletter, free or paid.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

A dose of inspiration each week

In other news, I decided to give a better structure to the newsletter. Starting next week, I will include each week 2 regular “paragraphs”: The book of the week, and The artist of the week. So each week you can look forward to discover new artists and spend more money on books hahaha :D I do this because structure and organisation help me a lot and by having the same structure each week makes it easier to be efficient. Also I can talk about books for hours and I love sharing great artists I like or discover.

This is it for today. I would really like your feedback on that Discord thing, so please let me know what you think. I will tell you next week what I decided. I will also introduce new benefits for the paid subscribers, like a “draw with me” session every 2 months ;-) But more on this next week. The next weeks/months are going to be exciting for sure. I want to plan great things for you and I want to make it right :)

Enjoy your weekend and talk to you next week :)

Francis