06. OPEN BOOK 🔮
Hey Stranger,
Last night, I went to a special screening at the Grand Lake. They were showing MANTRAS AT MIDNIGHT, a new short film by Oakland writer/director Takai Ginwright. We went to support Jake’s cool friend Schorl, who did the mixing & sound design. It was such a sweet scene — such a passionate team and enthusiastic audience. Made me happy and reminded me that Oakland is the best city in the world as far as I’m concerned! I want to support more local artists by going to their cool events, even though in the moment it’s always easier to keep rewatching New Girl.
Before the screening, as an attempted antidote to some melancholy, I took myself out to dinner & drew at the bar. The food was so good (I went to Sirene to be fancy and I had a great time). I love drawing in public — people get curious & brave and ask to see what I’m doing. It draws (hehe) people in, and I love that. I want to do it more often!
Wine by the centimeter, brussel sprouts, fish & chips
During the Q&A post-screening, I got a little bored and drew an alien dinner party. When I don’t know what to draw, I often gravitate towards monsters and aliens cuz there’s no wrong way to do it. I also like to challenge myself to draw a whole scene sometimes, filling in details and backgrounds instead of making lots of disparate doodles.
I meant to share this one in the last post, but I forgot. It’s little comics from my day that I did by hand, and then I colored it in on my iPad. Digital art scares me but it’s fun to play around and be an iPad baby :)
I’ve been so in love with this tarot deck. I first saw the cards because CoRo uses them as their table numbers, and I’ve been eyeing them online for literal years. I finally took the leap & bought them a few months ago, and I have no regrets.
Sometimes after I do a reading for myself, I draw the cards because it’s fun and helps me to notice all the little details. I also decided to write a little summary of what I got from the reading. I wrote it in the style of this deck + guidebook, whimsical & mystical & a little old-timey.
Here’s what it says:
“You are learning that to get where you want to go, you need not travel by foot. You’re smart, gathering tools + information, making effective choices, & dropping what’s too heavy along the way.
What vessel will you pilot to your dreams? Prioritize approachability & effectiveness — you don’t buy the classic car when you’re first learning to drive. Allow yourself to build systems around your natural rhythms, & make sure the vehicle is a safe, fun place from which to explore.”
Then, I drew it all one more time, trying to synthesize all of these images, words, and vibes:
That’s all, folks. I decided to type this one up because hyperlinks are my love language and also it felt more approachable, but I like the handwritten feel + will probably go back to that next week. What do you think? I’d love to know.
If you want something to listen to, I’ve been really enjoying this playlist by sweet guy/wonderful artist Hayden Everett. If you like the vibe, check out his original music too.
I drew this last one in a blissful state after playing music with my sister and our friends. Hope you get to do something creative & fun this weekend.
Love,
