Well, here we are in 2024. I hope you had a great holiday. Sophie and I are back from Paris with an armful of sketches and about 3kg of added bread weight.
Thank you to all of my generous new paid subscribers who joined in the past few weeks. I really appreciate your support— keep an eye on your mailbox for that little bit of art. I hope you like it.
Every year for the past 9 years I’ve used my 'warm-up sketches' time on New Year’s Day to scribble a self-portrait. It’s the only time I do it. The style depends on whether I’m at the drawing board or sitting at the Cintiq. I don't meditate much on these; I just start drawing and see what emerges. It’s usually a reflection of my feelings about that year.
On our last day in Paris, we climbed the steps to Place Du Tertre, the home of live caricaturing in Montmartre which these days… doesn’t have many caricaturists at all. I wrote about it here:
This weekend I’ll be sharing part #2 of my Paris Sketchbook Series. You can see Part #1 here:
Drawing people making music.
This week’s Sketchbook is a bit of a throwback: I was cleaning out the studio on New Year’s Eve when I found a little notebook I’d been keeping in my pocket when I went to see jazz around the city in 2022— usually Smalls or Django. I always give myself about 30-60 seconds with these to get the shapes down.
While I do love the convenience of an iPad/Wacom/Xenselabs tablet…I can’t ever replicate the joy of using analog tools. I’m starting a new Substack in 2024 called “Process Junkie”to explore all of the joys of the Process of making art. If you’re interested in that kind of thing, you can sign uphere.
Until next time, Your pal,
Jason
+Photo taken at the Highline Hotel by Morris’ best friend, Uncle Paulie.
Love every one of the Jazz sketches. Now if only there was a Morris Jazz Goblin.