Struggling Through

January felt like a difficult month to get through at times which is probably why I didn't manage to do a post for the whole of that month. I was busy and tired, and the dark dreary days seemed to encourage dark dreary thoughts. I did manage to keep up with my reading, I'd be lost without books, but anything more just wasn't happening. So the day I had off yesterday, with sun no less, seemed to hold the promise of spring just around the corner. I hung out my first wash of the year; an occasion I always feel worthy of note:-

How lovely does that look?

And there are definitely little bursts of colour here and there:-

One thing I have actually been doing is a sketch a week. This is something I'm determined to do this year in order to try and free my drawing up and not be too precious about it; I have to do at least one sketch a week and spend no more than 30 minutes on it, finished or not. By the end of the year I will have at least 52 sketches. These are from the start of the month:-

Last week there was a Front Row special with Mary Beard in conversation with Philip Pullman. Now Philip Pullman is one of my literary heroes so this was a real treat and it lifted my spirits. The interview was conducted in a book-lined room in his Oxford home and as I curled up with a warm drink in my armchair I almost felt like I was there with them.

Front Row Late

Amanda xxx