Hello world! I had no internet for a couple of weeks and it wasn't that bad, actually. Refreshing, I'd say. Suddenly, you have time.

Of course, that doesn't mean that I immediately became productive and accomplishing...But I did some work on my in-progress paintings, sketched some, and played with Yupo. And I finally found the time to read.

Just today, I finished "The Creative License" - another book that I "heard" a lot of positive comments about in the online world. Some people swear by its powers to unlock their creative potential. Well, there are good thoughts in it.

I struggled through the first two or three chapters and considered putting the book away, so uninteresting I found the beginning. I also did not appreciate the occasional bullying tone (or maybe I'm too touchy, and it was supposed to be friendly encouragement?). There is a liiiiitle too much about Danny Gregory in this book. I mean, in some cases, a little personal touch is good (like in "Everyday Matters", it was perfect), but it feels wrong in a book titled "The Creative License: Giving Yourself Permission to Be the Artist You Truly Are." What is the purpose of the 3 pages devoted to how Gregory learned guitar with his son, for example?

I also thought it was very fragmented. It seems like a collection of little bits of random thoughts, rather than a coherent work written from start to finish. I'm not saying it's bad, but it's different. Could make a nice calendar. Or a "daily devotional" type book.

95% of what Gregory presents as discoveries, I have already discovered by myself or with the help of somebody else. Like seeing beyond local colors or thinking in the shower. Seriously, I even have a waterproof notebook with a waterproof pen. I still can't decide if it's me knowing more than I thought I did or if Gregory's stuff is too basic.

But like I said, there are good things about this book. I loved the quotes from different "creatives" and little facts about them. I copied down the movie list. Some deeper musings beyond the first couple of chapters I could relate to.

I think Gregory is successful at making a doubting artist (and aren't we always doubting?) feel better about what they do. Would he convince me to start an illustrated journal if I didn't have one already? I'm not sure.

And - too bad, I already was on an "electron fast" - since we don't watch TV and we didn't have internet!

So, that was my critical and skeptical 2 cents. Most people think the book is great, and it's probably a good reason for you to read it :) As a matter of fact, I recommended it to my husband, since he confessed to me that he wants to learn to paint (big secret, by the way, and I'm kind of excited about it!).

And here are some recent sketches:

More latex paint, as you can see! :)

EDM 24 - a piece of fruit.

EDM 124 - something yellow. My son's alternative to a rubber duck. The drawing was quite a fiasco, actually. I drew it with pen, which turned out to be not at all waterproof when I tried putting watercolor on top. Watercolor didn't want to stay on latex, either...It kind of did on the second try, and I even got an interesting effect where the paint sank into the little holes in the latex that I poked with the pen when shading...Overall though, it sucks. That day sucked, too :(

EDM 13 - telephone and 4 - cup:

And there's also EDM 137 - something you can turn on or off (unfortunately, only one of the items in this sketch are on/off-able ;)