186. I was invited to draw at a wedding
wedding sketches, giving away my drawings, and a new substack offering.
Dear reader,
Sometime last year, Jill got in touch to ask if I would draw at her wedding. The date was undecided, the venue was undecided, but she was sure about having me draw there. What a special feeling.
The SneakyArt Post is a publication about secretly drawn art of the world. Every week, I share my latest drawings, and the best ideas from my journey of self-education to be a writer and artist.
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It was a short and sweet ceremony
… which is a wonderful thing, except that I had to hurry to finish in time!
I arrived at the venue a few minutes early. Knowing that I would have less time with the final drawing - and that it had to be just right! - I was a little nervous.
To calm my nerves, to warm up the drawing muscles, to get the ink flowing in a manner of speaking, I began to draw the tiny guests as they arrived.
When the ceremony was about to begin, I stood in a corner of the room behind the seated guests. The tall windows made a ‘natural frame’ for the composition. Drawing in a vertical orientation also offered another compositional advantage - I was able to draw guests below who would look up at the couple.
(I spoke about using natural frames for composition in last week’s Insider Hangout.)
Next week, I will send them a sneaky art wedding package consisting of -
🖼️ the original drawing, for them to frame
🖨️ high-quality prints on fine art paper, to gift to loved ones
💌 digital files, to print thank you cards
🤳🏼 and the reel I made on location.
Below is the special moment.
📭 A Free Little Art Gallery
When the sun emerged from behind grey clouds today, I decided to leave some art in a nearby Free Little Art Gallery.
One of my resolutions as an artist is to give away as much art as I can.
Art brings joy to people’s lives. And our right to experience that joy should not be tied to economic transactions.
It has been a year since I started doing this. I find that it empowers me. To cast my work into the universe, to let it find a new home, gives me more agency over my career, my work, and its value.
Perhaps, this tiny drawing will bring a tiny amount of joy to another person’s life?
If so, that will be enough. If so, it will be worth being an artist.
🗓️ You should…
❤️ Become a SneakyArt Insider to support my work, so that I can keep giving away art for free!
🎙 Catch my interview on the Science Friction podcast (ABC Australia), to learn more about me.
🎉 Check out my drawings from the family wedding I attended in Jaipur (India) this February.
🖋️ Read last month’s Tiny Stories for Tiny People thread.
🎙 Listen to Episode 57 of the SneakyArt Podcast with naturalist and artist John Muir Laws.
🎥 Watch my ink drawing demo from February on YouTube.
💻 Sign up for my "How to Draw Tiny People" workshop this Sunday.
Introducing Substack Notes
Notes is a new Substack offering to let us interact with each other more directly.
Expect me to post pics of the Vancouver sky, interesting plants and urban oddities, and a host of random things that do not strictly belong in this newsletter.
You can also find the Notes tab in the Substack app. If you encounter any issues, refer to the Notes FAQ for assistance. See you there!
If you are hesitant or averse to using Notes, do not think that this will mean missing out on my work. This newsletter, and the space you have given me in your inbox, is the most important thing to me.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Everything about this post was clever (and sneaky)! Have you considered sneaky art sketching in a gym? Or maybe you’ve already posted and I missed this.
Really love these drawings. And the Little Free Art Gallery is a brilliant idea!