Hello!
Welcome to The Wobbly Line ~ 15 - hope you are all keeping well in the recent heat! Today’s Wobbly Line is going to be a little bit more like a Christmas letter vibe - with updates of mine and Ed’s 3 week van trip to southern Ireland. What a beautiful part of the world! So much green, turquoise seas, and many nice donkeys. The header of this newsletter is inspired by all of the different colours and textures I breathed in.
June ~ agenda.
Ireland snaps.
Video; See me create this header.
Ireland sketches.
What other creatives have been happening.
1. Many nice donkeys & a hidden Glen.
I couldn’t possibly fit in all of the details of mine and Ed’s van trip to southern Ireland, so I’m just going to give you my two faves. First of all, donkeys. Ireland loves donkeys and they are the sweetest animals. On one of our last days, after seeing the most glorious hand-painted signs, we HAD to check out Willie’s donkey farm. Willie Daly is County Clare’s renowned matchmaker (of humans, not donkeys), who also happens to own some donkeys and ponies (including Pamela Anderson who was naughty and Boris Johnson who likely would have been a better leader). The most incredible man, who definitely pulled our leg many times but in such a deadpan manner that me and Ed nodded along politely. Though I don’t doubt Willie to be the best matchmaker in the land, I do think his true calling is designer/illustrator. His handmade signs were INCREDIBLE.
The second highlight has to be this beautiful glen walk in Leitrim. This was a bit of a last minute idea, a trail that started with a hidden passageway opposite an old stone well. The trail opened up to be like the tardis but a rainforest version. It was possibly the greenest place I have ever been, and we had it all to ourselves. Mattresses of moss, bright green ferns, tiny mushrooms in the mud. I don’t think my lungs will ever have that prime level of oxygen in them again. I could not stop getting Ed to ‘look at this!!!’ and ‘look at that!!!’. Try and spot me in my blue coat standing up on fern mountain!
2. Watch me create June’s header.
3. Ireland sketchbook.
I’ll be honest, I was hoping to get more sketchbook work done while we were away. However, I was able to let go of the pressure that I would have previously put on myself and allowed myself to just rest, read, and breathe in all the nature. Here are some sketchbook entries I did manage, sitting in a café and drawing cormorants on the ferry home.
4. Any other creativity?
4a. My folklore comic series this month.
My paid subscribers this month were treated to a full start to finish process (included photoshop) of this folklore comic based on the Scottish mythical creature, the Kelpie. I struggle, like most creatives, to see what my style is and to feel where I belong in my artwork. This really opened my eyes to how I enjoy narrative illustration and has made me excited to do more like this.
4b. Patreon zine with Sarah Dyer.
On one rainy afternoon in Ireland, Ed and I had a moment of feeling like we needed to breathe out, creatively. Ed went off on a jaunt to find a desk somewhere and I stayed in the van with my sketchbook, a limited array of art materials and a catch-up patreon session with Sarah Dyer. She does these super fun zine making sessions, and I was gutted to miss the live version. I actually wanna do this one again and I totally recommend her patreon.
4c. What’s next for July?
I have sooo much patreon to catch up on, and I’m really excited to just focus on creating and sharing that with my subscribers here. I see lots of process videos coming, life drawing, & also sorting out my plan chest full of art. As you might know, I’ll be heading to Edinburgh to start my master’s course in Art Psychotherapy in September. I’ve got so much original art that I just won’t have the space for, and I also need to raise some funds for my life there too. So, an instagram originals sale will be coming soon!
The end of The Wobbly Line ~ 15
I hope you enjoyed The Wobbly Line ~ 15. By this time next month I really want to give you loads of creative experiments, updates and next steps. I can feel a lot of creative output coming after a well needed rest. Big love, JB x