Day 1: The 30-Day Drawing Habit Begins TODAY
Let's do this, people.
Happy New Year, my dear GUT friends!
What a delight to enter 2024 together. Whether you’ve been with me from the beginning or just pulled up your chair up to the table, I’m so darn thrilled you’re here.
For the newcomers to the Grown-Ups Table (affectionally called the GUT): the GUT’s weekly dispatches (art lessons, interviews, explorations, etc) are delivered via email every Sunday to paid and free subscribers. Paid subscribers receive drawing prompts and access to the GUT community chat. The chat is the heart of the GUT. It’s where we share our artwork and support one another. Paid GUT members also get to join live events, Q&As with yours truly, access special discounts and prizes on creative goods, and all that fun stuff.
Paid GUT members also get access to The GUT’s 30-Day Drawing Habit. Which starts… NOW.
GUT Visiting Artist Julia Rothman launches our 30-Day Drawing Habit with a New Year’s Drawing Ritual.
I LOVE JULIA! YOU LOVE JULIA!! WE ALL LOVE JULIA!!!
Sure, I’m biased. Julia is a dear, dear friend. But I also just adore her work, and I know a lot of you do, too. Julia is an incredible illustrator. She’s taught at RISD and SVA. Back in 2016, Julia and I worked our butts off to create the database Women Who Draw (which I’m proud to say changed the field - and face - of commercial art.) Last year, she also released two great books: How We Got By, which she created with her New York Times Scratch column collaborator, Shaina Feinberg, and the Wildlife Anatomy Book. Both are phenomenal, of course.
A few years ago, Julia invented a simple and powerful New Year’s drawing ritual I love. We did it here on the GUT last year (you can see everyone’s drawings in this chat thread!) and it was such a hit that I asked Julia if she would lead us in it again for 2024 as a kick off for our 30-Day Drawing Habit. Despite being in India with her husband Ollie right now (!), she generously agreed.
So without further ado, here is Julia Rothman with our 30-Day Kick off/New Year’s Day drawing assignment.
Julia, take it away.
Visiting Artist: Julia Rothman
Hi GUT! Happy to be back with you for the New Year.
I’m in Pune, India which is a city about three hours east of Mumbai. My husband Ollie’s mother is from here and lives half the year in India. We are here visiting her and other family. I’m seeing the country for the first time.
Some standout impressions: There are so many motorcycles and rickshaws and not many traffic rules.
Everyone is always honking. I love riding in rickshaws to see the whole city. The colors and patterns everywhere are beautiful- on buildings, people’s clothing, the back of trucks... Everything is hand-painted.
Kites (the bird) fly overhead and share the sky with bats (flying foxes!) at dusk. I took hundreds of pictures already and waiting until I have free moments to start painting.
In the meantime, I have started thinking about my More/Less list for the year. I love this tradition because I get to look back on the year without a huge amount of judgement, just reflection. And plan for how I want things to shift for next year. If you didn’t do this with us last year, or need a refresher on directions - here’s how to do it: