I’m sure you’ve been here too.

It’s super hot out, or really humid, or maybe buggy, and you’d love to fit in some time sketching outdoors, but oh my, naw, maybe later…

Then you think, “Maybe if I pull out my palette and just look at it, I’ll get inspired…”

A moment later you sigh, noticing that your watercolor paints look like an artifact from King Tut’s tomb. Really dry. Really uninspiring.

That’s where I’ve been lately, urban sketching once a week with my buddy P. on Sunday afternoons, but not nearly as often as I was before I started work on my second book. (More on that later.)

This week I was researching something on YouTube, when who pops up in that provocative right-hand column of upcoming attractions but one of my favorite people, Emma LeFebvre, a delightful Canadian watercolorist who makes all things seem possible and fun.

You’ll love her. Here’s your assignment, or invitation if you prefer.

This week take all that pressure off yourself, and set aside about an hour one day soon, right in the comfort of your home, to simply play with your watercolor toys. The video attached below is only 27 minutes long but give yourself a full hour. I want you to feel free to pause the video, practice, laugh, cringe, smile, and enjoy playing with the colored water. She calls this practice “drills”; I call it brush-dancing. Fred and Ginger, move over! Here’s the link:

Now that you have the key to unlock some fun for the day, or the week, I want to show you how my book is coming along.

I’ve set myself a deadline of July 4th to get my final draft to the editor, and now that I’ve told you, I really need to give it my best shot. I think I’m about halfway done, at 115 pages and 74 images. Intense work!

After the final draft is safely in the hands of my editor, I’ll start work building my Launch Team!

“What is a Launch Team?” you ask?

Launch Team members will be getting an advance copy of the ebook for free as soon as the final formatting is complete, hopefully in September. In exchange for this free gift, Team members promise to read it promptly, and about a week later, when the book is made available on Amazon, you agree to write and submit an honest review on the book’s page on Amazon. That’s all.

More details will be forthcoming once I have my list of Launch Team members. If you’re interested, send me a confidential private message through the contact tab above (not through the “comments” tab below), including your name, a bit about yourself, if you’ve read “Look at That!” (my first book), and if it was helpful to you.

My second book will not be everyone’s cup of tea, naturally; it’s an illustrated artist’s memoir. But if you’ve ever wanted to look over a sketcher’s shoulder while they’re working, and listen to some of their thought process, this book may feel like one of your new friends. It’s an entertaining, relaxing read with lots of illustrations as well as occasional unexpected drama. It’s not just about art, it’s about life as well. Mostly it’s about how sketching these last thirty years has changed my life.

I’m not “writing to market” as so many writing courses encourage you to do. I already have my market: you lovely folks, and the roughly 3,000 people who bought my first book and liked it. We are a niche market unto ourselves, and that’s fine with me.

Here’s another peek at the cover, and a glimpse of how thick the printout is as of today. It’s 7pm, time for a final pot of tea, and back to the keyboard grindstone!

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As always, feel free to forward this post to anyone you think might enjoy it.

Questions? Comments? Public comments can be posted below. Private questions, comments, etc. will reach me by using the Contact link here.

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Finally, thanks so much for spending some “aloft” time with me.