Daily Doodles Jan 20-26, 2020

Pen & ink, Daily Sketch, Daily January 26, 2020

Here is last week’s daily doodles, which ended today. This past week was a week of changes in my productivity process. I am using the Pomodoro Technique to stay focused and manage my time better. I have also been using a Bullet Journal for the past several years instead of a planner. The creator of the Bullet Journal, Ryder Carroll, has written a book recently and I am reading it and streamlining my daily planning even more than before. The book is very helpful.

The Pomodoro Technique is a helpful time management technique because you are making a commitment to work in blocks of time with taking a 5 min break between them. It helps keep you focused while not burning you out. Plus it helps you manage distractions and interruptions, which is my issue. There is a book that you can digitally download from the library that explains the process and there are plenty of YouTube videos.

The two methods together are a game changer for me.

Here is last week’s daily doodles, which ended today. This past week was a week of changes in my productivity process. I am using the Pomodoro Technique to stay focused and to commit blocks of time for getting my work done. I have also been using a Bullet Journal for the past several years instead of a planner. The creator of the Bullet Journal, Ryder Carroll

Here is the link for the Bullet Journal Method:

https://bulletjournal.com

The Pomodoro Technique

https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique

Preview….

Acrylic/Mixed Media, Daily Sketch, Mixed Media, Paint pens January 20, 2020

I am working on the Tiny Sketchbook Project for The Sketchbook Project, a library in Brooklyn that houses thousands of sketchbooks.

I have worked on cats for so long that I began a 100 day project of sketching chihuahuas to give myself a break. That segued into doing Chi’s for the Tiny Sketchbook Project. The book is almost complete and I will be mailing it out shortly. I will be scanning and posting all the spreads but in the meantime, here’s a teaser….the pencil gives you an idea of the scale of this sketchbook. I love working tiny!

Jan 13 – 19 and my NFL picks

Daily, Daily Sketch, Pen & ink January 19, 2020

Well it’s that time of year again. NFL Championships. Eagles didn’t make it thanks to the dirty hit by Seattle that gave Wentz a concussion. We’re still scratching our heads over how that wasn’t a personal foul. And our backup QB was playing with an injury. Oh well. Movin’ on to the 2020 season…. Phillies will be playing soon. Haven’t watched any hockey since we moved to Florida. Seems pointless.

In the meantime….our “in season” predictions were San Fran and the Ravens… but the Ravens rolled over and played dead like a bunch of ‘possums last weekend so that leaves KC or the Titans. And since it’s Antarctic temps in KC right now, I am picking KC to win (since they are used to the cold.). I’m female and that’s my logic.

Here is last week’s doodle page with proof of my predictions. Eat your heart out Vegas.

January 6-12, 2020

Daily, Daily Sketch, Pen & ink January 14, 2020
This is the doodle page for last week. We had a couple of very windy days. We finally got all the Christmas decorations put away.


We’ve been getting the house back to normal. The poinsettias are still on the patio and we are thinking of moving them to the garden. My calla lilies are starting to come up. There was a woodpecker drumming today and we were cracking up because this little guy found some serious percussion. One thing I love about Florida is the wildlife.

Another Morning Ritual…

Uncategorized January 11, 2020

Another of my routines in the morning is my morning pages. I have spoken of this before in previous posts. I have a sketchbook that I use for a daily routine of writing, sketching, writing what I am grateful for and setting an intention.

I start off the day with two sketches. One in my morning pages and one on my doodle page. This way, it is my routine to draw every day. I don’t always get to do it first thing, sometimes we get up and hit the ground running and I end up doing it in an airport or the car. Once in a blue moon I miss a day but that’s rare. I never make excuses, I just do it.

For the last 100 days of 2019, my morning pages have been Chihuahuas. Since I was doing cats on the postcards, I needed a break. Plus in order to get better at drawing something, I need to practice at it so I used Chloe & Mack as models, but I also used Sktchy for reference photos, too.

For the uninitiated: Chihuahuas come in several versions. Long coat (Mack), smooth coat (Chloe), deer head, apple head (Chloe & Mack), short and compact, taller and streamlined, curly tail (Chloe & Mack) and straight tails All versions are “correct” except the compact version seems to show up in dog shows more.

Chloe and Mack’s tails get curled really tight when they are waiting for food and treats or when they are happy.

Here are some of the Chihuahuas from that 100 + day practice….

Happy New Year!

Uncategorized January 7, 2020

2019 has ended. John and I have been scurrying around through the holidays. We unpacked the house only to have to repack things to put Christmas decorations out. Now we are in the flip flop stage of putting Christmas away and pulling the everyday stuff back out.

I am still using the garage as my temporary studio. We are still debating on using the garage vs a “she” shed. The garage is contained within the house and easier to climate control but there are no windows so it’s like a tomb when the door is closed. Plus it needs lighting, a screen door to keep the bugs and lizards out and it can only be opened when the weather is nice. When the sun hits the front of the house I have to close the door a bit because the sun is not kind to art materials. It’s open right now but it is chilly today so I am a little cold. I have long sleeves and jeans on, so whoever thinks it is always hot in Florida, that is incorrect thinking. It gets down in the 40’s some nights. Good thing I still have my parka.

I have plenty of “doodle” pages to share which, instead of posting them all at once, I’ll stagger them over a few posts.

In the meantime, Happy New Year and I wish you joy, happiness and lots of luck in the New Year.