32 Comments

dear kelcey,

thank you for this!

i'm planning on writing one joke a day this year.

just kidding! (that's my joke for today. that i would only write one joke a day.)

now, all i have to do is figure out what is a joke and what is the truth and the connection therebetween!

love your work! thank you! happy NOW year!

love

myq

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Okay that was hilarious on multiple levels! Thank you for that, Myq ❤️😂

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🙏❤️🙏

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I like your story and the navy blue background is perfect. I subscribed and gotta get to reading and seeing your art. Happy Art Year and art’nt we creative.

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Thanks for appreciating the background! Did you also note the cat? :) Happy Art Year to you too!

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Gotta go back and find that Cat! Lol

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😂 I was just being silly 😂 (it's in the first scene, curled up on the rug...)

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Same! And so glad I did! How could I have missed that?

@Kelcey Ervick your cartoons often remind me of how much I loved the Highlight’s magazine when I was younger. I would I always look for them while sitting in a doctor’s office. (Clearing my throat::My age isn’t important. Lol)

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Artn’t we creative. I like that too.

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Love this! You inspired me and a friend to do the draw-every-day thing a few years ago. I'm not doing it daily but...still doing it.

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Thanks, Barb! I stopped doing it daily too because there was too much to juggle with other projects and deadlines (which still required art+writing!), but I've gotten back to it the last three months and really enjoyed it.

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I love how you say that just before midnight, "something shifted". We can't really force it, but sometimes if we let go, or maybe it's that we get out of our heads and into our bodies, there will be a shift and we JUST DO IT.

Don't mean to be plugging Nike here 😅

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Thank you, yes! There's something intuitive about it all, and we have to listen and feel. My "thoughts" told me it was too daunting. My spidey senses said, "Let's just try this little thing and see where it goes..."

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This is why I love substack. 😊

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Aw thanks, Mary! ❤️❤️❤️

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I recently discovered Flannery O'Connor. And I'm wanting to start a regular art practice! Great post.

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Oh lucky you (just discovering Flannery)! Good luck with starting up a regular art practice! My first two painting attempts of 2024 were very terrible, for what it's worth!

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I needed a kick in the pants to start up again. Thank you!

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Heck yeah! Do it!

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Love your style ❤️

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Thank you so much! 🥰

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I started doing this back when I was working on my wordless picture book, Pandamorphosis, more than 10 years ago. I kept putting these things on my to-do list, and they were just too big, so I never actually got them done. Then, I'm not sure what bit of advice finally got through to me, but I decided to break it down in time rather than project. Like "work on story board for 30 minutes" and when the 30 minutes was done, I could work on it another 30 minutes, or call it a day.

Now, my hour or so when I first get up and have my coffee is spent at my drawing table, either working on comics or whatever book/illustration project is trying to be made.

I love your art diaries you share here. They are inspiring me.

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Yes! That's such a great strategy! James Clear mentions it in Atomic Habits: setting a short time amount makes it much easier and thus more likely to do. Also, Pandamorphosis is an excellent title :)

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Thanks for the shout Kelsey! The art habit is one of the best parts of life!

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Heck yeah it is! Happy New Year!

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I was really enjoying this post so much and pleasantly surprised to be mentioned at the end :)

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Glad drawing that picture helped you dial up your creativity habit. ;)

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There can never be too many Kelcey posts!

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Thank you, Debra! Happy New Year! ❤️

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Thank you. So inspiring As the book atomic habits suggests. A few minutes every day. Thank you. Love your posts

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Yes thank you! I've written about Atomic Habits elsewhere! https://kelceyervick.substack.com/p/atomic-habitsof-art

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Thank you for this! 🥰

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