Michael Nobbs

Tag: DailyPractice

  • Listening to David Hockney

    A cosy night-time scene on a plaid blanket. An iPad displays a portrait of David Hockney from the BBC Sounds programme At Home with David Hockney. Beside it sits a Moomin illustrated tray holding a green teapot, jug, and a mug, with two oat-milk cartons behind. In the foreground lies an open sketchbook showing a simple line drawing of Hockney’s face spread across two pages, captioned “4:30 a.m: Listening to ‘At Home with David Hockney.’” A short pencil rests on the page. The image conveys the quiet companionship of drawing and listening in the early hours.

    Drawn in the early hours while listening to At Home with David Hockney.

    My energy is especially low today (after buying a car yesterday!) and I wasn’t sure if I was up to drawing at all. But there’s always something about being awake and making a tray of tea things to bring back to bed that nudges me toward reaching for my sketchbook — a habit attached to a habit that is hard to resist (even when energy is very low!).

    Listening to David Hockney in the dark felt companionable. Among other things, he talked about how looking takes time — how we don’t see everything at once, and how a picture can hold that slow seeing.

    I loved his reminder that “the more you look, the more you see.”

    His life, like mine is very small and mostly home-based. He talked about he only leaves the house to go to medical appointments, his local bookshop and the marijuana shop. No marijuana shop here — and replace his bookshop for my library — and our lives look very similar. As with what Tracey Emin was saying a few days ago, I found this very comforting…

    I enjoyed making this drawing — just a simple line drawing. It felt less daunting than tackling a full Tea-Tray drawing today when my energy is so low, and I felt calm listening and drawing.

    I don’t think I captured David, but I love the lines (and now the memory of making them).

    A close-up view of an open sketchbook resting on a plaid duvet cover. The page shows a simple line drawing of David Hockney’s face spread across two pages, dated “28-10-25.” Below the portrait, handwritten text reads “4:30 a.m: Listening to ‘At Home with David Hockney.’” A short yellow Blackwing pencil lies on the left-hand page. The corner of a Moomin illustrated tray and a mug are just visible at the top, suggesting a quiet early-morning drawing session in bed.

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  • Drawing is Free Session — 27th October 2025

    A loose portrait drawing made during a live online Drawing is Free session. The sitter has short orange-brown hair and wears a blue top. Drawn in pencil and crayon with quick, searching lines and a few patches of colour, the image captures the immediacy of a short pose.
    A quick pencil and crayon portrait of a man with short hair and a blue collar. The drawing shows the head and shoulders in three-quarter view, the marks spontaneous and lightly layered with blue and black lines.
    A sketch of a person with brown hair, hand resting near their mouth. The drawing combines delicate pencil lines with small areas of colour, suggesting the warmth of the pose and the brevity of the sitting.
    A portrait of a sitter wearing a blue, red and white hood, with dark hair, eyes closed, drawn quickly in pencil with subtle hints of crayon. The marks feel spare and attentive, made during a short timed pose.
    A portrait drawing of a young woman with black hair, one hand touching their face. The lines are light and open, made with pencil and wax crayon, showing the immediacy and informality of drawing in company.

    I’m very pleased to have made it along to this morning’s Drawing is Free session.

    I only managed the first half hour today before my energy began to fade, but it felt good to find a little rhythm again after Covid.

    Eight drawings — shared here are five, it took three to warm up and find my drawing mojo — made with whatever was to hand: a Blackwing 3 pencil, Neocolor II crayons, and a few old wax crayons.

    This morning was a gentle reminder that even a short time spent drawing together can be enough to make life feel a little brighter.

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  • Sometimes Things Just Can Work Out

    A close-up of an open Moleskine sketchbook showing a late-night drawing of an Oatly Barista Edition carton and an Energizer light bulb box on a green surface (the tea-tray). The handwritten text records a 4:30 a.m. moment when George found a replacement bulb just after one had blown. The drawing was made with a Blackwing 3 pencil and two Neocolor II crayons (black and light olive). The real objects — carton, bulb box, and Onion Soup mug — rest on the tea tray behind the sketchbook, all on a plaid blanket. The image conveys quiet domestic calm and the small satisfaction of things unexpectedly working out.

    Today’s Tea-Tray drawing, made at 4:30 a.m. when I couldn’t sleep.

    An Oatly Barista carton, an Energizer light bulb box, and my Onion Soup mug were all on the tea tray, though the mug didn’t find its way into the drawing.

    G. had just found the bulb while looking for something else, moments after one of the lights blew — a small thing, but it felt like a sign that maybe not everything has to be difficult. I was about to put the bulb box into the recycling and then decided I could draw it instead. A tiny decision, but one that changed today’s drawing from my more usual composition. (I’m going to put the bulb box into my physical Ephemera archive.)

    It was drawn with my Blackwing 3 pencil and two Neocolor II crayons (black and light olive). I felt very dopey and suspected I wasn’t equal to the task, but I’m glad I persevered — so that now this drawing exists as a tiny record of a quiet moment of domestic calm, and the small satisfaction of things unexpectedly working out.

    The full text reads:

    4:30 a.m.
    Very dopey drawing. G. found this bulb when looking for something else. Perfect as one of my bulbs had just blown (do low-energy bulbs blow?). Sometimes things can just work out.

    A closer view of the drawing in the sketchbook, showing the loose pencil and crayon lines depicting the Oatly carton and Energizer bulb box. The handwritten notes describe tiredness, coincidence, and the relief of a small thing going right. The textures of pencil and crayon are visible on the paper, revealing the dopey, half-awake energy of the 4:30 a.m. drawing.

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  • Back to Tea Made with a Teabag

    A sketchbook drawing of a morning tea tray showing an oat milk carton, a mug, a spoon, and a small dish holding a used teabag. Soft green wash surrounds the objects, and handwritten text reads “Back to tea made with a teabag…”

    Today’s Tea-Tray drawing. The text reads:

    Back to tea made with a teabag…

    It almost feels like the drawing is sighing along with me. Recovery, it seems, isn’t all in one direction…

    I kept this one as simple as possible. I was tempted — ready with my Forest Green Derwent Lightfast pencil in hand — to draw the Moomins too, but in the end decided I couldn’t quite face it. I’m trying to let this be enough today.

    The oat milk carton, the mug, the used teabag — small, familiar company on the tray. A quiet morning, drawn as best I could.

    A close-up of the same drawing, focusing on the mug and the small dish with the used teabag. The pencil lines and green wash are clearly visible, with the handwritten words “Back to tea made with a teabag…” just above.

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  • Two Cartons of Oat Milk

    Sketchbook drawing showing two cartons of oat milk, a mug, and a teapot. Handwritten text reads: ‘Two cartons of oat milk on my tray this morning. I’m feeling very jittery. Am I drinking too much tea? I hope not!

    Here’s today’s Tea-Tray drawing. The text reads:

    Two cartons of oat milk on my tray this morning.
    I’m feeling very jittery.
    Am I drinking too much tea? I hope not.

    Often (usually?) my drawings are simply a record of a moment, of what’s here in front of me — the clutter, the small absurdities of my tiny life, the quiet noticing of how I feel. Today it’s two oat-milk cartons, a teapot, and a cup of tea that’s probably gone cold while I was drawing.

    Open sketchbook on a tray beside a mug of tea, two cartons of oat milk, and a green teapot. The drawing on the page shows the same scene with handwritten reflections about drinking too much tea.

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