Michael Nobbs

Category: Reflections

Thoughts and observations that step back from the day-to-day to explore ideas within my creative life.

  • Drawing without glasses

    I think I’m probably overstimulated. After quite a long period of not venturing far from my bed, yesterday G drove me to see the Mary Lloyd Jones exhibition at the National Library. So many paintings, such beautiful colours — probably too much for one visit.

    I met up with a couple of dear friends who I haven’t seen in a very long time, and we sat in the café chatting after looking at the exhibition. Seeing my rather diminished self through their eyes is something new and a little unsettling.

    Tonight I’m grateful for Ounce’s company whilst I’m not sleeping, and for the familiarity of drawing my tea tray. I don’t feel able to cope with too much sharp focus just now, so I’ve taken my glasses off and am embracing the blurriness.

    Ounce, a silver-grey tabby and white cat, curled up on green and grey checked pyjama-clad legs beside an open sketchbook on a bed. The sketchbook contains a loose black ink drawing of my tea tray, with handwritten notes about drawing without glasses, being awake in the small hours and visiting an exhibition the previous day. Beside it are a Mary Lloyd Jones exhibition booklet, a striped earthenware milk jug with a spoon, and a tall metal flask. The bed is covered with a red, grey and cream checked duvet, and the scene is softly lit.
    A close-up of an open, homemade sketchbook containing a black ink drawing of a tea tray and its contents. A tall flask, striped milk jug, teapot and large mug are drawn in loose, overlapping lines, with the patterned hen-covered cloth filling much of the background. Handwritten notes describe being awake at 2:10 am, Ounce's company and a visit to an exhibition at the National Library. Behind the sketchbook is a Mary Lloyd Jones exhibition booklet, with a striped ceramic jug partly visible at the top.
    An open, homemade sketchbook resting by a tea tray covered with a brown cloth decorated with black illustrations of hens. The pages contain a loose black ink drawing of the tea tray, including a striped milk jug, a teapot coloured with green pencil and a large mug with the letter M on it. Handwritten notes across the top read “Drawing without my glasses (Not sleeping)” and describe Ounce keeping me company in the small hours, and yesterday's visit to the Mary Lloyd Jones exhibition at the National Library. A small note says “I feel the need of blurriness.” The drawing is dated 3 November 2026 and timed at 2:10 am. Three pens and pencil together with the foot of a small reading lamp casting a warm orange glow are visible above the sketchbook.

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  • It’s earlier than I thought

    A photograph of an early-morning tea tray resting on a colourful crocheted blanket. On the tray, covered with a blue cloth patterned with little white hens, are a green teapot, a carton of barista oat milk, a yellow mug decorated with a hen, two pens and a small reading light casting a warm golden glow. In the foreground, an open homemade pocket sketchbook shows a black ink drawing of the objects on the tray, surrounded by loosely drawn hens. Across the top of the drawing are the handwritten words “It's earlier than I thought!”
    A close-up photograph of an open homemade pocket sketchbook resting on a colourful crocheted blanket beside a tea tray covered with a blue hen-patterned cloth. The black ink drawing fills both pages, showing a carton of oat milk, a mug decorated with a hen and a small reading light, with little hens from the tray cloth filling the spaces between them. Handwritten notes include “It's earlier than I thought!”, “I've given up trying to sleep. Drink tea and draw!” and “Back to drinking oat milk — is that okay?” Two pens, one black and one orange, rest just above the sketchbook, illuminated by the warm light.

    I thought it was a quarter to four, but it was actually a quarter to three. Would I have still not tried to go back to sleep if I’d realised?

    Of course, in a couple of weeks the clocks will change for winter and this will be 3.45 am, so what’s the difference really?

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  • A 4.00 am pool of light

    An open pocket sketchbook resting on a colourful crocheted blanket in front of a screen showing a moustachioed man wearing a grey cable-knit jumper and red neckerchief. The sketchbook contains a portrait of the man, drawn in black ink with touches of red, turquoise and grey against an olive-green background. Handwritten text reads “New YouTube obsession. Henry did it”, alongside the date 9-10-26 and the time 4.30 am. To the right, an orange Stanley mug and a black pen rest on a yellow Moomin tray decorated with illustrations of Moomin characters and flowers. The scene is warmly lit.
    A close-up of an open pocket sketchbook resting on a crocheted blanket in shades of cream, rust and blue. A black ink portrait of a man with a curled moustache stretches across both pages, with touches of red, turquoise and grey on his clothing and a textured olive-green background. Handwritten lettering on the left reads “New YouTube obsession. Henry did it”, with “4.30 am” written vertically below. The date 9-10-26 appears on the right. Behind the sketchbook, part of a screen shows the grey cable-knit jumper of the man being drawn, with a pale blue typewriter visible in the background.

    I’m reluctantly coming to the conclusion that I’m in the midst of an ME crash.

    What I’m also seeing is that my 4.00 am drawing habit is actually a little oasis for my foggy brain and uncomfortable body. There is a certain amount of clarity and even some energy as I sit in bed awake in the small hours.

    For weeks now I’ve been waiting for this time to dissolve into a more regular — more acceptable — sleep pattern. But today, as I sit with my tea, drawing and listening to the rain, it feels like a little pool of light to enjoy and cherish.

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  • Early morning drawing and pondering

    A very early-morning drawing setup on the bed. A blue chicken-patterned tea tray holds a bright green teapot, a large striped earthenware jug, a cream mug of tea, a small reading light and several pens and pencils. In front of the tray, an open pocket sketchbook shows a drawing of the same scene, with large outlined shapes of the mug and jug, a blue chicken-patterned background and handwritten notes including “3:34am.”
    A bedside drawing setup with a round mirror, green teapot, cream mug and scattered drawing tools on a blue chicken-patterned tray. Michael is reflected in the mirror holding a yellow phone. In the foreground, an open pocket sketchbook contains a black-line self-portrait against a green background, with a peach-coloured speech bubble asking, “Am I a character in my own comic?”

    Awake at silly o’clock again, but with a gloriously unfoggy brain. So I drew and pondered.

    How would it be if I thought of the pages of my pocket sketchbooks as panels in a comic?

    What if I thought of them as landscapes to be explored and photographed — zooming in, reframing them?

    What if I thought of the photographs of the drawings and the drawings themselves as separate things to explore?

    My brain has disappeared into fog again.

    I shall put thinking on hold for another day.

    Close-up of an open pocket sketchbook showing a black-line drawing of Michael’s early-morning tea tray. A large mug and jug dominate the page, surrounded by hand-drawn chickens on a blue background that echoes the chicken-patterned tray fabric beneath. At the top right, “3:34am” is written in green and black above a handwritten note about being awake so early, while several drawing pens and pencils rest above the sketchbook.
    Close-up of the top right section of an open pocket sketchbook showing a drawing of Michael’s tea tray. Large black outlines describe a mug, jug and other objects, while the spaces around them are filled with small hand-drawn chickens over a blue background. A handwritten notes at the top reads "I'm awake so early that my flask mug is still I the dishwasher." Above, the time is written in large green text outlined in black ink — “3:34am.”
    An open pocket sketchbook resting on a larger red-and-white patterned sketchbook. Across the pages is a black-line self-portrait of Michael wearing round glasses, surrounded by a rich green background. A peach-coloured speech bubble beside his head reads, “Am I a character in my own comic?” Drawing pens and the blue chicken-patterned tea tray are visible above the sketchbook.
    Close-up of an open pocket sketchbook containing a black-line self-portrait of Michael wearing round glasses. Only part of his face and head are visible, beside a peach-coloured speech bubble that reads, “Am I a character in my own comic?” The rest of the page is filled with a deep green background made from visible marker strokes.

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  • Letting myself get used to where I am

    A view of an early-morning drawing setup on a bed covered in a colourful crocheted blanket. A large open sketchbook shows a drawing of a tea tray, with a mug, a jug, a tea strainer and a chicken-patterned cloth rendered in black line and blocks of blue, turquoise, grey and deep pink Neocolor II. The left-hand page includes handwritten notes about finding comfort in the familiar and the date 1-10-26. Above the sketchbook is the real tea tray, holding a bright green teapot and the mug, tea strainer and striped earthenware jug from the drawing. Drawing tools, including some Neocolor II crayons, a short yellow pencil and a purple fountain pen, are also lying in view on the tray.
    Close-up of an open sketchbook on a bed covered in a crocheted blanket, showing an early-morning drawing of a tea tray. The right-hand page contains line drawings of a mug, a jug and a tea strainer among areas of blue, turquoise, grey and deep pink Neocolor II. A chicken-patterned tray cloth is drawn beneath the objects. On the left-hand page, handwritten text begins “5:10am” and reflects on finding comfort in the familiar after a period of stretching himself creatively. We can see pens and pencils on one corner of the actual tea tray from the drawing, just visible above the sketchbook.

    This morning I found myself returning to drawing my tea tray again.

    I wrote:

    Finding comfort in the familiar. I’ve been stretching myself recently. It’s time to stop that for a while and let myself get used to where I am.

    I suspect the biggest stretch last month wouldn’t look like much of a stretch at all to someone looking in: a gentle half-hour chat over Zoom with an artist and educator I admire. But the anticipation of the conversation had left me in a state of anxiety from the moment I arranged it.

    In the end — as the me underneath the anxiety knew it would be — the conversation was very good. Useful, encouraging, and something I think is going to become an important monthly part of my creative life.

    The anxiety beforehand was another matter.

    I’ve recently started using an app called FatigueSense that gives me an allowance of energy points for each day. I usually begin with somewhere around 60. By the time yesterday’s conversation was over, I had eight left, and I was down to zero soon after.

    That feels like quite a clear measure of what anticipation and anxiety can cost me, even when the thing I’m anxious about turns out to be good.

    So this morning it felt important to return to something familiar: the tea tray, the chicken-patterned cloth, the things that are around me every day. Drawing first with the stub of a Blackwing 3, and then reaching for some well-used Neocolor IIs.

    I need plenty more mornings like this in October while I get used to the place all my recent stretching has left me.

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