Little Pockets of Sketching Joy

Sketches of an anatomical heart and an abstract flower (Feb 2025)

I don't often find myself with loads of free time, and when I do, it's tempting to either delve into playing the Sims 4, play with the cats or sleep. The 'important life stuff' also eats up that free time too, as there's cleaning, cooking, paying the bills and more 'exciting' adult activities. However, I recently found myself one Tuesday morning with a day off work and a few hours of free time, so I did something that I've not actually done much of in the past few years, and that was to sit in a cafe, pop on my headphones, and do some sketching. And honestly....I'd forgotten how calming and satisfying it was.

Sketching in cafes became a weekly ritual when I lived in Australia. I was working part time, so had more time to focus on my art, specifically my illustrative diary. This diary became the literal 'tome' that documented some of the best and worst times I had living overseas, and overall, it helped me relax, stretch the arty hand muscles, and I got to have a coffee at the same time, so there was multiple wins! It would only take an hour or two out of my day, and as long as I did 1-2 pages, I was happy. If the weather was nice, I'd even take a walk along the break wall, appreciating the surroundings, smells and odd bin chicken strolling about.

I look back on that time occasionally and wonder why on earth I stopped doing it in the first place, since it gave me so many 'little pockets of joy'. Well, as I've mentioned, free time can be so difficult to come by, and when you do have it, it so easily slips away. As you get so caught up with the other aspects of life, you forget what gave you those 'little pockets of joy' in the first place, and only when you have time to revisit it again does it make you realise 'huh, I should really be doing this more often'. And in the world we currently live in, oh boy do I need more of those little bits of joy!

So anyway, going back to this recent Tuesday morn, I got comfy and begun to sketch away with a coffee and pastry to the side. I was calm, happy and pleased to finally get back into it, and what emerged from those 2 hours was an actual concept for my next painting, combining the macabre nature of bodily organs with the gentle aspect of wild flowers. Now, this may seem quite odd, but for those who aren't aware, I was born with a heart valve condition, and while it does not currently affect my life in any major ways, there is a chance it could in the future. I had surgery for it in 2010, but it's likely I'll need another one at some point, so it's always in the back of my mind. So, given my own personal medical history, oh, and the fact the cafe I was in being near our local hospital, it makes sense that I started sketching little anatomical hearts. And in truth, this then led me to sketching abstract flowers, writing out additional concepts, and ultimately, it led to having more ideas for similar paintings that could all form the beginnings of a future exhibition. For someone who's been unable to find artistic inspiration for 2-3 years, I considered this a big win, and by the time I was ready to head back home, I felt hopeful for the first time in years that my art journey was not quite over yet.

They do say that inspiration comes from interesting places, and for me, it was the cafe near the hospital.

So, what happens now? Well, I now have my concepts and a rough plan for the rest of the year painting wise, so if you'd like to keep up to date with it, please subscribe to my blog, and follow me on the ol' socials like Facebook and Instagram to keep fully up to date. Blog posts aim to be ever 2 weeks, and as I work on creating my new paintings, my Insta will be charting that progress!

Until then, big wishes to you all!

Laura, aka, That Hungry Art Girl (C)