Be the Artist-in-Residence of Pubs, Buses, and Community Gardens
Three inspiring artists and their self-appointed residencies
Greetings from the English countryside
Hi! I’m on vacation right now. Please enjoy this video of some sheep walking through the town of Coniston, in the Lake District.
Also, I’ve been saving up a few examples of self-appointed artist residencies for you to enjoy. Thanks to alert readers who keep sending them to me. How about becoming the unofficial artist-in-residence of:
Every Pub in London
Lydia Wood has embarked on a project to draw every pub in London, and in case you’re wondering, there are 3500 of them. She’s done a few hundred already. Will she draw them all? Does it matter? She’s doing two or three a week, so she considers it a thirty-year project at this rate. But it’s a good excuse for a pub crawl, and her drawings are beautiful. Read more about her project in the New York Times. Or just go draw your local pub.
Your Community Garden
I’m on an interminable wait for a place in my local community garden, but while I wait, I’ve been thinking of going over there and drawing the flowers and veggies coming out of my future plot. Imagine my excitement when I read about Gina Levantini, who is doing just that as just one part of an art practice that focuses on the natural world. There’s a wonderful Q&A with her in The Garden Dish, so go over there to read more about her.
The Garden Dish is written by my friend Willi Galloway, who I have known since back in the day when she was an editor at Organic Gardening magazine. She knows everybody in the plant world and is writing some interesting stuff about people and places connected to horticulture in general and culinary gardening in particular. Check it out.
The Bus
I’m very interested in what Martin Smith is doing at Take This With You & Leave It Somewhere Else. He’s making poetry zines and leaving them sitting around for people to…well, take them, and leave them somewhere else. People sometimes let him know if they’ve found one of his zines and where they left it: you can see a map of all of his zine locations right here. He’s also appointed himself the poet-in-residence of his regular bus route, which is not to suggest that he’s writing poems about the bus (although nothing’s stopping him), only that he’s writing poems on the bus, “in one long, warm exhale.”
Supporters are doing some plein air painting at a vineyard
I’m away for a few weeks right now, and while I’m gone, I have a substitute: me. Supporters of this newsletter are getting a video this week that I made back in July when I went to a vineyard in Oregon’s Willamette Valley to paint and draw. Every week, we do something related to sketchbooks, and there’s an archive of 100 videos, tutorials, and other bits of inspiration related to keeping a sketchbook that you get when you sign up.
We’re also doing a running project where people send me a photo to paint and I mail them the painting and film the process for everyone. To find out about subscribing, check it out right here:
The Bit at the End
Did you know I have a reader survey? It’s a fun set of questions. You might enjoy it!
Come find me on Instagram, or see paintings for sale- Right here
Order signed copies of some of my books from my husband’s bookstore, or order my books and many books I love at Bookshop.org
Take one of my online writing or art classes here
Leave a comment! I love to hear from you.
David Hill just up the street from me - it’s a nice escape from life, the internet, etc. I’m actually doing a bnw photo project of the vineyard buildings etc.
Hope you're enjoying your stay here Amy. Don't forget to visit Brantwood - home of John Ruskin, while you're by Coniston. Well worth a look. Big wave from Pabi in the Yorkshire Peaks 👋🏻