Hi there. How are you?

The summer months are a notoriously unproductive time for me. It’s hard for me to be inside when the weather is nice and things at my day job get insanely busy. My studio sat empty for most of June, July, and August.

I also have to be in the right headspace to make. It was a tough summer for me personally, which also contributed to my lack of production.

That doesn’t mean I wasn’t making, but it was mainly confined to my sketchbook, and done in fits and starts. It’s important for me to keep up my creative practice. Without it, I just don’t feel myself.

Here’s how I snuck in some drawing time:

Ballpoint & marker drawings from May 2019.

I drew on the job.

I worked on these drawings while attending a conference. If someone is talking, I was drawing. It keeps me focused on what they’re saying. I’m still deeply enamored with my Parker Pen.

Ballpoint and marker drawings from June 2019.

I drew on the couch.

If you’ve seen my Instagram Stories, you’ve probably seen me “couch drawing.” If I’m sitting on the couch, watching TV at night, I’m usually drawing in my sketchbook. Sometimes I try to take videos while I’m drawing so you can see my process. (Find some of those videos in my stories highlights.)

I drew in the car.

(I wasn’t driving.) I made this very loose sketch as a passenger on a road trip. It was the first time in a long time I drew with a Pilot pen. I used these all the time when I was making my coloring books.

I made this ballpoint drawing while on vacation in San Diego this summer.

I drew when I traveled.

I did this one while visiting my brother and his wife in San Diego. Airports, airplanes, and beaches are great places for me to sneak in some drawing time.

Drawings made with Bic Cristal ballpoints purchased from the UK. Click for purchase information.

I experimented with new pens.

A student in my Jen & Ink Ballpoint course turned me on to a set of Bic Cristal Ballpoints from the UK that included some new colors. (There’s even a gold!) When I have new supplies, I just have to try em’ out! These drawings were the first I’d none in a while with anything other than a black pen. Unfortunately, these pens are out of stock on Amazon. But hopefully, they’ll be available again in the future.

Most importantly, I stuck with it.

Drawing can bring me a lot of peace. It’s almost meditative for me. I drew when I wanted and didn’t worry about the outcome. There are some drawings I made this summer that will never get finished and I’ll never share. That’s perfectly OK.

As Emily Jeffords says, I “do it for the process.”⠀

I encourage you to make if it brings you joy. You don’t have to share it or show it to anyone. Do it for yourself.

What do you do, just for the process?

What do you do, just for you, to bring you joy?

Do tell.

That’s all for now.

Ciao, Jen

* HEADS UP: As an Amazon Influencer, I earn a small commission when you purchase the pens I've listed here with Amazon links. It's a small way to support the work I do without any cost to you. (Thank you!) ⠀

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