Painting the day away + SDCC
I’m working on a soon to be announced picture book. It’s my first time making a book with watercolor, ink and color pencil. It’s simultaneously exciting and terrifying.
It’s also meditative. Calming. I sit away from a screen, in front of a window where squirrels and birds frolic among the trees. I sometimes lose myself in a pattern or color mixing and forget to eat. I forget the hour. I’m consumed by making art.
I make a lot of mistakes. I smear ink, paint inside the lines and it’s less polished. Those mistakes could be fixed on a digital page. But there’s a charm in it. In a painting, minor mistakes add life and warmth.
As I paint, I allow my mind to wander, resettle and focus. Writing, drawing, promoting and earning a living wage as an author is hard. I plan my work years in advance. I often feel that my schedule and demands are non-stop.
But making this book with a brush in hand feels decadent.
And I am full of gratitude.
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Speaking of non-stop schedules, I will be at San Diego Comicon this weekend promoting Super Boba Café! My panels and ARC signings are below.
After Comicon I am away for most of August so I won’t update for a long stretch. I’ll be back in Sept with more.
Until then, happy summer!
I DON'T PAINT PER SE, BUT COLOR PRIMARILY WITH SHARPIE MARKERS. MY FINISHED AND WAITING PICTURES COME FROM MANY, MANY COLORING BOOKS. SOME PICTURES ARE FRAMED OR PLACED IN PLASTIC SLEEVES. AND HUNG ON MY FURNITURE. I LIVE IN A SENIOR INDEPENDENT LIVING FACILITY WITH MANY OTHER SENIORS --- 113 OF US... MOSTLY WOMEN, SOME COUPLES AND SOME MEN. (ONE HAS TO BE AT LEAST 60 YEARS OLD TO LIVE HERE.) I AM 74 YEARS OLD... 75 ON OCTOBER 9TH. MY DAUGHTER WILL BE 50 ON OCT, 19TH. I MOVED HERE THE END OF JANUARY, THIS YEAR, 2023. BEFORE HERE, I HAD MY OWN HOME AND THEN LIVED IN TWO DIFFERENT APARTMENT COMPLEXES. EVERYONE IN MY HOME NEIGHBORHOOD AND THOSE TWO APARTMENTS WERE PROBABLY 30 OR MORE YEARS YOUNGER THAN ME. THEY MOSTLY HAD JOBS DURING THE DAY AND CHILDREN , EVEN IN THE APARTMENTS. IT'S NICE HERE. MY FRONT DOOR FACES A HALLWAY WITH OTHER RESIDENTS. WHEN I OPEN THE OTHER DOOR TO THE OUTSIDE, I LOOK OUT ON BEAUTIFULLY LANDSCAPED TREES, BUSEHES, LOVELY GREEN GRASS, GAZEBOS AND BOTH PAVED & STONE WALKING PATHS, THERE IS A BIG PICTURE WINDOW IN MY SMALL LIVING ROOM LOOKING OUT AT ALL THAT BEAUTY. I HAVE A PERSONAL SEATING AREA JUST OUTSIDE IN FRONT OF THAT BIG WINDOW THAT ACCMODATES TWO LARGE CHAIRS AND A SMALL TABLE. AND... THERE'S INDOOR STORAGE FOR THE OUTDOOR STUFF. ONLY THING I CAN'T HAVE IS A GRILL.
I LIVE IN A TOWN NAMED ST. ANN, A SUBURB OF ST. LOUIS, MO. SO, IF YOU'RE EVER IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA, PLEASE GIVE ME A CALL AND COME BY TO VISIT. IF YOU'RE HAVING A PROGRAM HERE IN ST, LOUIS, I'M SURE I CAN FIND ROOM IN MY PLACE FOR YOU TO STAY WITH ME FOR A FEW DAYS. (SAVE YOU THE COST AND WHATEVER ELSE PUBLIC HOTELS CAN'T OFFER.) SO, I HOPE ALL IS GOING WELL FOR YOU. HOPE YOU AREN'T STUCK WITH THE AWFUL HEAT IN SO MANY PARTS OF THE U.S. SO TAKE CARE "LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR PICTURE BOOK. I'M SENDING GOOD VIBES YOUR WAY, THAT YOUR PICTURE BOOK IS EVERYTHING YOU HOPE IT WILL BE. SO TAKE CARE. HUGS, BARB N.