Every once in awhile I share the weekly letter I send out from my drawing substack because not everyone understands how to sign up (hi mom!) and so they can read it here. This is one of those days:
Dear friend.
This week I was feeling a combination of helpless and full of rage and so I drew something terrifying because for some reason drawing dark horror and phantoms and the existential monsters I see in my dreams is cathartic, and part of me wants to share those images because I think many of you could relate, but I also don’t want people to be like…wait…did I ask for drawings of wolves prowling inside your house and eyeless women screaming blindly into the raging wind? And no, of course you didn’t because no one would sign up for that. But the lovely thing is that after I get all of my angst and fear out on the paper I feel calmer and remember that the bad guys want you to feel helpless and terrified, and that most of the world is actually good and kind and loving and protective…they just don’t get as much press. And so then I can take a deep breath and start again, drawing something just as true and cathartic…but with the hope and care that I want to put out into the world and feel myself.
So that’s where this doodle came from. We all have to live together and each of us has our struggles and loves and fears. We are each unique but we are all together. And the only way we get through the hard times is remembering that we are far from alone. Be brave. Be strong. But don’t allow the world strip you of your gentleness and your kindness. Love wins. Hope can be a quiet revolution. In other words:
“Hey. We all have to live together. So try not to be a dick.”
I ran out of time before I finished because cross-hatching is hard but I sort of like it unfinished and a little raw and imperfect…just like us.
In fact, here’s a picture from before I started shading in case you want to print it out and work your own magic on it yourself. After all, humanity is a group project. (And we all know how fucking hard those can be.)
I super crazy love you,
Jenny
Ps. You can subscribe to my substack for free. Some of the posts are just for paid subscribers because they keep me in pens and paper and make me meet my deadlines (thank you!) but the vast majority of my readers are free and the majority of my emails go to everyone. I feel a little bad that my paid readers don’t get as much exclusive emails as some other creators parse out, but I also suspect that anyone who contributes to my substack would not begrudge others the joy (and confusion) of getting my emails. I’m so lucky to have you all.