A Drawing speaks Truth without Words
Also, I (finally) caved and read the reviews 🥹🥹🥹
A couple of years ago, scientists with big ears pointed to the sky detected a background hum that washes over the entire universe. Its origins are unknown but some call it the decaying remnants of frequencies from the Big Bang, origins everywhere and nowhere, destination everything and nothing. If I hum along, can I be one with the universe?
The train has a background hum too, of which we are a part this morning. All of us strangers, connected by every plastic seat, grounded by every metal bar, vibing. The rhythm of wheels on tracks. The clacking of tracks. The carriage swaying left to right, and back again. The sharp strokes of a ballpoint pen, slow and dark, then fast and light. The currents of electricity running through the system, powering us forward. At every station, the shuddering stop of a frequency, decaying. Every surface and every object, imperceptible to outward senses, resonating with something inside us. Vibes.
The clouds are a vibe too. The rain of the morning is a soft but unceasing vibe. The forecast of always more rain ahead is a vibe. Red is a vibration of colour, of the death of a leaf. Other vibes hold tight to branches, green and yellow and orange, biding their time. Grey washes over the horizon, a vibe for sure. The vibes settle into you and everyone else around you. You resonate with your city and its people. Heads bowed, not making eye contact, but vibing together on the train this morning.
The SneakyArt Post is a newsletter of secretly drawn art of the world. Every week, I shares the latest drawings from my sketchbook, and the best ideas from my journey as an artist and writer.
Tell a friend. Make a scene. Persist in the face of apathy…
Dear reader,
A week ago, working my way around a slice of pizza, I tell Samantha Dion Baker that the book tour is going well but I am avoiding reading any reviews. A hundred positive reviews may delight me, but a single negative review will live inside my mind forever.
She gently suggests getting over it, and then we talk about other things, other books that we want to make, other ways that we want to be artists of this world. I tell her about a beautiful little book I am reading by Jhumpa Lahiri, called The Clothing of Books.
The author (of The Namesake, which you must read) describes her mounting sense of alienation as her books go deeper into the publishing pipeline, culminating on the day she confronts the book-cover and jacket. This will be the first thing a potential reader will see, but it is not her work. It is another person’s vision, over which she have little control.
I tell Sam that she must read the book too and so we look it up on Goodreads. It has a 3.7/5 rating. I cannot believe it. On the train ride back, I look up a few books that I love deeply - The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli has 4.1, Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez has 3.9, and Ways of Seeing by John Berger has a 3.9 too. Reader, I ask this gently, what the heck?
This week, after some more hesitation, I look up Make (Sneaky) Art.
If you have read and enjoyed the book, would you leave it a review?
I promise that, every few weeks, I will gather up the courage to read them. (If you do not want to leave a public review, you can also just email me.) I ask because your words matter. They will be essential fuel in the coming months as I pursue my next book project with the enthusiasm and ambition it requires.
In Indian systems of succession, primogeniture has never been a thing. During the reign of any king, his princes were expected to compete amongst themselves to prove their worthiness. The histories are littered with stories of princes who won the throne after imprisoning, killing, or otherwise defeating their rival-siblings.
So it goes.
I have three ideas for what’s next, furiously competing for attention. Each book is completely different and demands its own treatment - in the ways it would like to be written, and in the ways its physicality would be crafted. But there will be no killing, I hope. Each will have its turn, I hope.
I am pitching all three ideas to fans and readers I meet in person. To share your thoughts, catch me on the book tour.
Speaking of questions on book tour, I was asked this question asked at my event in San Francisco: Why were you unable to finish writing your novel?
… You can’t lie with a drawing. Every drawing tells the truth about you. And I find this way of speaking the truth so joyful, so easy, so abstracted but so honest. Art has helped me learn to be vulnerable and express complex, deep things, without letting words get in the way.
Artist Jodi Wiley shared a page from her zine which includes this quote from the book.
🇨🇦 Readers in Canada, order the book from OPUS Art Supplies and support my favourite art-store.
🇺🇸 Readers in USA, order from Art Toolkit to get a signed custom bookmark too.
Buy the book, buy the book, buy the book.
🎙️ [LISTEN] I spoke with Mike Rohde on the Sketchnote Army Podcast about the many stop-signs and detours in my creative journey to Sneaky Art.
🎙️ [LISTEN] On the SneakyArt Podcast, I speak with Jim Richards about his new book, The Travel Artist.
📚 [JOIN] the Sneaky Book Tour in Victoria BC on Saturday, Vancouver Nov 8th, and Portland Nov 13. All dates here.
Thank you for your time and attention. It was a privilege to be in your inbox today.
I bought your book. Delightful and inspiring. Fun too.
Love the clip from the sf tour…there’s me and my daughter, listening so carefully 😊