Michael Nobbs

Tag: gentle rhythm

  • 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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  • Familiar Spouts, a Mr Kipling Apple Pie and My New Mug

    An open sketchbook rests on a tray covered with a printed cloth of small illustrated chickens. The drawing on the page is made entirely in pencil: a jug with a pronounced spout, a teapot, an insulated mug with a lidded top, and several loosely sketched chickens. The jug appears slightly larger in scale than the other objects. The drawing is left in line only, with no colour or text added it is dated 7-11-25 in the bottom right corner. Above the sketchbook, the real objects sit on the tray: the jug, the teapot, the insulated mug, and a small pie in its wrapper. The scene is arranged on a softly crocheted blanket made up of blue and purple squares with a white borders. A small white reading lamp lights the scene with a gentle orange glow, and the overall feeling is quiet and domestic.

    Today I turned my new tea-tray mat over, revealing a calm brown background. I also added a Mr Kipling apple pie to my tray — something with warm associations from long ago. Together these two small changes helped me into a calmer space before I started drawing than I was in yesterday.

    I began the drawing with the spout of my milk jug. I get pleasure and comfort from drawing its shape — the same is true of my teapot spout. After drawing both, I moved on to my new insulated mug, starting with the little sticking-out piece of its lid. I can see that this might become a familiar starting point — it isn’t yet, but the possibility that it might pleases me.

    I made the decision to include the chickens on the tray mat — more unfamiliarity — but then I spotted a chicken that was familiar. It is the same as the one on my lesser-used (but still often drawn) Go Gently George mug. Seeing that one helped the other illustrated chickens feel friendlier. I was getting to know them better as I drew. Quite suddenly, I realised I was enjoying myself, and noticed that the new mug is more on the page and part of the drawing than it was yesterday.

    No colour today, no text. I rather like the open space left on the page.

    A calmer time drawing — and, with the new insulated mug, my tea was still hot when I finished.

    A close view of an open sketchbook page showing a pencil drawing of an arrangement of tea things on a tray. A jug, teapot, insulated mug, and a number of chickens are drawn with strong lines. The photograph is a closely cropped view of the sketchbook, but the top of the image shows the tray from the drawing and includes a small reading light casting an orange glow and a stub of a yellow pencil with a gold ferrule. It can be seen that the chickens from the drawing are illustrations on a brown mat that is covering the tray. The image suggests a feeling of intimacy, cosiness, and domesticity.

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  • Don’t Shake Me (Anymore!)

    ng yellow in the lamplight), travel mug, Oatly Barista carton, and a Go Gently mug sit around an open Moleskine sketchbook. The drawing shows a mug and the Oatly carton in Neocolor II Black, Purple, and Silver Grey, with handwritten text on the left page.

    Drawn in bed early this morning — a mug and the Oatly carton from the tray beside me. The drawing is simple: just those two things, made with Neocolor II Black, Purple, and Silver Grey, and a Blackwing 3 pencil.

    The last few days have felt shaky. The process of trying to buy a car has left me feeling very unsettled. G. woke me in the night as I was calling out for help in my sleep — rescuing me from a nightmare in which I was being stabbed.

    I was still feeling jittery when I awoke properly and was pleased to have my usual morning routine — make tea, put it on my tea-tray, take it back to bed, reach for my sketchbook — to fall into. It was as I was putting my oat milk on the tray that I noticed the “Shake Me” lettering on the carton, and I began the drawing in my head as I climbed the stairs back to bed.

    The finished drawing feels raw and unsettling — the colours echoing the words on the page:
    Feeling shaken and jittery. Buying a new car has all been a bit too much. Woke up at 2:00 a.m. shouting out for help. Don’t SHAKE ME (anymore!).
    It captures the moment as I was drawing and will be a reminder of my night-terror.

    I think this morning, the act of drawing (even more so than usual), was an attempt at steadying myself through its familiar routine. Today, I’m not sure that was wholly successful — but it did help.

    A close-up of the open sketchbook showing the drawing and handwritten note. The right page depicts the Oatly carton and mug in Neocolor II Black, Purple, and Silver Grey, with “Shake Me!” visible on the carton. The soft lamplight and plaid duvet convey quiet vulnerability and the effort to stay steady.

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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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