Today Was A Perfect Day

I am trying a little something new! You can read my missive below, or if you watch the video, I recorded a voice over of me reading this letter as well, so you can listen instead, if you would like!

Today I woke up excited and wanting to paint RIGHT NOW.

The 1st of May - some people get that excited anticipatory feeling in spring, I get it when winter approaches, and today I could taste winter on the cool morning air. Perfect. 1st May is my mum and dad’s wedding anniversary, which is always special. Perfect. It is the beginning of my birthday month. Perfect. More importantly it is the beginning of my nephew’s birthday month (he will be five the day after my birthday. I will be…more than five, let’s say!). So perfect. I tempered my painting excitement by going for a walk in the early morning sunshine, greeting the water hens, butcher-birds, maggies and wrens. So, so perfect. I meditated, and Seraphina joined me (always a good meditation session when your kitties want to join in). Perfect. And then I painted. For nearly 6 hours straight. I painted until my Bluetooth earbuds turned off, out of battery, and I realised I was hungry, and a large chunk of the day was gone.

Today was a perfect day.

Clearly, it doesn’t take too much for me to feel like this - cooler weather, autumn sunshine, birds, kitties, painting - but this last few weeks has been tumultuous to my heart and mind. No, not last few weeks, this entire year. Today feels like a new beginning, and I feel lighter and more hopeful. Perfect.

Perfectly imperfect, all of it.

I have spent the last couple of days trying to figure out what I want to paint - aside from the mini’s coming up, more on that in a moment - and then chastising myself for overplanning and under-doing. If there were gold stars to be handed out for planning, I would have books of them. Need planning done? Come to me - I will make you ALL the elaborate, deliciously detailed plans. This morning however,  I woke up, I knew what I wanted to do, and I was just bloody well going to do it. Just do it Natalie - if it doesn’t work, paint over it. I had prepared a bunch of raw birch cradled boards on Saturday - three coats of acrylic primer, sanded between each - so they were ready and waiting for me. And this morning I chose one of the smaller ones, and started a painting that I am soooo happy with…and which I will tell you about later, because she is a bit new still (but you can catch a glance on my Instagram stories if you are quick), and I am relishing this early conversation. But suffice to say she is perfectly imperfect and I am in love.

The minis! The panels arrived this afternoon, so I will prime them in the morning, and then, get started on…wait, what? It was a tie!! The Stonechat and the crested tit each got 36%, and I so love that those were the two you loved most. I really thought it would be the European Goldfinch, just because he is so flashy beautiful. So I think I will just go in order that I had them up, rather than flip a coin - Stonechat first, then the Crested Tit. 

And still, I am getting ahead of myself.

Today.

Today though, another sketchbook adventure - this time a rose. Well, two roses, actually. I want to improve my rose painting skills, and to do that I need to spend more time with them. This sketch took nearly 4 hours, it was so enjoyable, and I learned a lot. Most of the clips here are sped up, but I have left some at real time because I love watching real time sketching - do you? I have a bit of a surprise for paid subscribers coming this week, a series that I have been thinking about for a little while, and I would love to know what you think. I am calling it sketchbook stories - I envisage it as a little moment of zen, where you can watch me work in real time, and I will read you a story - you can have it on in the background, or you can zone out and watch. A moment of calm. Perfect with a cup of tea. And some strawberries. I did a poll a little while ago on Instagram, and my community there chose The Secret Garden, so that will be what I start with. Depending on how raucous the birds outside are, the first instalment should be up soon, and you can let me know what you think. If you would like to be in on the fun, you can upgrade your subscription any time, and essentially buy me a punnet of strawberries and a cup of tea once a month, for which I am eternally grateful.

So sit back and relax, oh wait, I am reading this over the video, so you are probably already almost done if you are listening too, but whatever the case, I wish the most perfectly imperfect day for you tomorrow, and every day.

More soon,

xo N