Dear friends,
I am so happy to write here again !
I am sitting right next to the window ; I always push a small table next to the window in this winter-y period, so I can get more light (and be closed to the heater which makes it even better) ! Let me show you :
So, here, warm and happy, looking at all the yellow leaves in the garden outside, I wanted to write a few words for you who take the time to visit this blog. Yesterday, I realised that some of my illustrations on Instagram did not have as much interactions as they used to a few weeks/months earlier. So I posted a poll in one of my stories, asking people if they still saw my illustrations in their timeline. Most of them did (about 70% of them), but some did not. And some people even took the time to send me messages (thank you ! I am always happy to read your words ♥), saying that Instagram might be slowly dying, and that blogs are also very convenient to interact with people. I have no idea, I thought for a really long time that blogs were kind of "dead" now ! Is that true ? Please give me a sign, something, if you think the contrary :-)
(Edit, about two hours later : I did another small poll on Instagram (polls, my best friends), and you guys voted for most that you'd like to read blog posts ! It makes me so happy, I cannot even start to tell you how much ! To celebrate, let's all drink a cup of tea - or coffee or chocolate or just water if that's what you like 😇)
I love writing to you friends (and what I love even more is read from you !). And, let's say, Instagram is not always the best place for writing. It is awesome for posting pictures and very tiny captions (although mine are already so loooong), but it is not a place for talks in my opinion ! (It even cuts the private messages in the middle of a word if it thinks you're being too talkative). So, as I said before (I know, I already said all of this during the summer and then failed to write more regularly here...), I would love to make this little space, right here, more lively and to interact with all of you much more ! What do you think ?
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| A sneek peak of what is on my desk today ! :-) |
I was thinking I could write about my favourite books, my most used art supplies, any other little things illustration-related (or not)... I could even let you know about the process I have to go through before opening my online shop ! I am in the middle of this, so... what do you think ?
And also, what if we started with something sweet and nice : would you like to introduce yourselves in the comment section ? This way, I could get to "meet" you (I really don't want to be the only one talking only about myself) ! I would be so happy to read about you and what you like :-)
I really hope you will be as happy and enthusiastic about this as I am, and meanwhile, I send you all my love ! (Marcel the baby cat is joining me and sends you greetings)
Take care of yourselves ♥
Cécile
(Also, in case you missed it, here is my last Youtube video where you can see some drawing and embroidering !)
Hello! I’m an illustrator and tinkerer living and working in a South Korea. I adore your writing style and your work. My name is Ellie:)
RépondreSupprimerOh hi Ellie !! So nice to meet you :-) Thank you for taking the time to read this and answer me. Do you have any social media or website where I could see your illustrations ? I am always happy to discover new illustration works ! ♥ Also, visiting South Korea is one of my biggest dream (as well as Canada), it must be so beautiful ! And I would love to learn the language as well (even though it would be so difficult as even the alphabet is different !). I send you all my love and I hope you are enjoying a nice day filled with happy things ^_^ ♥
SupprimerNice to meet you too:) I have a website (ellielubbers.com) that is terribly out of date and certainly on my to-do list, as well as an updated instagram (@ellielubbers). I'd be tickled if you gave it a gander. The alphabet is the easy part of living here- speaking is a bit more challenging, haha. Give it a try! Hangeul is super quick to learn. And do visit. It's absolutely lovely here.
SupprimerI just checked your Instagram profile and realised that of course, I know you already !! I can totally recognize the profile pic from when you post comments :-) ♥ So you are from Michigan am I right ? I thought you were born in Korea !! So you did learn Korean later ? I am so amazed and admirative haha -- All the love to you, I am going back to daydreaming about that sweet Korea country ;-)
SupprimerHello Cecile! So nice to know you have a blog! My name is Francis and I'm a follower of yours on Instagram, I love your artwork, your color palette gives a sense of peace that I appreciate.
RépondreSupprimerI'm so excited to read your writing on blog posts, I've always enjoyed reading your captions on IG both on your posts and stories. This maybe weird, but reading them makes me feel relaxed. Art supply is my second favorite after doing art itself, so I always love reading about it! I was planning to go to Italy with my parents so I could get Artistico paper from Fabriano seeing that you and a lot of other artists use it and like it, unfortunately I just have to ask my parents to get it for me since I didn't have time to make visa:(
Anyway, I'm looking forward to read more from you! Have a good week and stay warm.
Francis
Hi Francis, thank you so much for taking the time to write here ! It means a lot :-) And I feel very happy and flattered that my posts or captions can make you feel happy... this is the best thing you could tell me, it makes my heart dance ! (It is a weird image, but it is true !).
SupprimerFabriano Artistico paper is awesome ! I always use the hot pressed, satin one because I love smooth papers but you can also pick the cold pressed one if you like more texture :-) I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do ! Maybe when you cannot go to Italy you can order it online ? This is what I usually do ! I don't know where you live but maybe some art websites have it there ? But anyway, that's so great that your parents can bring you some back, it must feel even more special when you know it comes directly from there :-D
Have a wonderful day, I hope it will be filled with happy things and smiles ! Take care ♥
Cécile
Hey! I'm claudia , from Malaysia. But currently in Nottingham for my final year of degree in graphic design. Love your art btw !!!!❤❤❤
RépondreSupprimerHiii Claudia, so nice to meet you !! I have been studying in Leicester for a year in the past, so I had the opportunity to visit Nottingham as it is very close, and I liked the city a lot ! And Malaysia must be a wonderful place as well ♥ (there are so many places I wish to visit, hope I can visit all of them in my life haha) -- Thank you so so much for taking the time to write me ! It makes me really happy :-)
Supprimerhello,cecile ! i love your illustrations, your blog and your youtube channel ! thanks for sharing your lovely work with us, i feel really happy whenever you post somthing :)
Supprimermy name is fernanda, i am a design student from brazil, currently trying to figure out what to do with my life haha i have this distant dream of becoming a freelance illustrator, but i still have a Lot to learn ! nice to meet you ☁️
Hi Fernanda, thank you so much for taking the time to write this to me ! It makes me so happy ♥ I'm sure if being an illustrator is your dream, you can do it ! It requires a lot of work indeed, but when we love something it's worth it. I myself still have to improve on many things, but we learn along the way I guess ! I'm sure you'll do great things :-) I send you all my love (traveling like a little cloud all the way from France to Brazil) ♥
SupprimerHi Cécile, I'm LindaGrante (you maybe remember me from Instagram). I live in a big city in Germany. I love to read blogs, but I really think it's a good idea to use Instagram to make everyone available of new blog posts, because at least I know for myself how I always forget checking back on blogs I even really love. There is just so much to do everyday and then when I have time, I forget that I wanted to catch up.
RépondreSupprimerI would love to read more about your process and your shop and also I would like to know how you came to find your style and what kind of work you do for clients.
I have to work a lot but in my spare time I try to learn to draw and paint, because I love children's books so much (I also collect a bit) and I especially love picture books. I can pick up one of my children's book at home and just enjoy the illustrations and relax. So I would love to be able to make such illustrations some day too. I try to experiment with different art materials, but I'm not sure what to do or what I like most just yet. I don't have a style, because I need to practice much more.
I hope you will write more here. I really love to see your work :) It is very calm and the palette is always so quiet and beautiful! <3
Dear Linda,
SupprimerI am so so happy to see you here ! Of course I recognize you from Instagram :-D
And yes, that is a great idea, I was planning on letting people know when I do post something new on the blog, because I myself forget to check my favourite ones all the time ! A lovely follower also told me about mailing lists, where you can subscribe and receive an email when something new is published. I have to check this out, but I don't want to be invasive (I know that I personally hate seeing my inbox filled with stuff that's not necessary !). I have to think about it :-)
Thank you so much for your suggestions, for telling me what you would like to read ! This is really helpful. I don't always have ideas or know what you friends would like to see, so I will keep that in a notebook somwhere so that I can write about this ! :-)
And don't worry about your style or anything, I think you are already doing things very well : the most important and first thing to do is just practice, with lots of mediums and lots of subjects, and you will eventually come accross some you like more than others ! And little by little, along the way, your style will just come up. It is already within you, so it just needs some time to get out into this world :-D In the end, our style is only a compilation of our personnality, things we like and our skills. So it builds up on its own !
And it this is your dream, you will eventually illustrate a book someday. I believe what we really want and work for always eventually happen ♥
Thank you for taking the time to write me, I always appreciate your kind support and reading your messages/comments always make me smile !
Sending you all my love and warm tea (here is so foggy today !)
Cécile
Dear Cécile,
SupprimerThank you for taking the time to reply and also for your encouraging words. I also believe that if you work for it and also embrace your luck dreams can come true.
I love foggy mornings, but they are so rare. I don't even know when was the last time I saw fog! This is a very cold and bright morning and I am excited about the weekend coming up. I hope you have a great day!
I hope I'll read you again soon :)
Linda
Hello Célile,
RépondreSupprimerMy name is Kelli. I live in Colorado. I have been following you for a while on Instagram and I look forward to seeing your posts of your day and your beautiful, charming artwork. I love that you write letters, like your are talking with old friends. I ordered L'ours Transparent and Le Petit Sapin Ébouriffé and everything about the books make me so happy. It was like Christmas when I found them in my mailbox.
I draw and paint as well and colored pencils and watercolors are my favorite. I love the mountains, forests, anything in nature, and all things cozy. It's nice to meet you and if you like please come visit me on Instagram @flittonk.
Have a beautiful day.
Kelli
Dear Kelli,
SupprimerThank you so much for taking the time to write here ♥ I'm so glad to know more about you !! MOreover, I also love the woods, everything in nature (so many beautiful plants, flowers, fruits, animals), and cozy things are my favourite !!
I just had a look at your Instagram profile, and I love your illustrations so much !!! (Insert that little emoji with hearts for eyes). I struggle so much with coloured pencils, but you are so good with them. I love the soft colours and textures, and your little characters are all adorable ♥ I especially love the little guys with herbs and plants on their heads, and all the costumes you drew for Inktober ! Thank you so much, it always makes my day when I discover new illustrations I love ! I'm glad you posted here and I could find your work :-)
Have a wonderful day, filled with all cozy things and smiles !
Sending you all my love and cat hugs,
Cécile
Coucou Cécile ! �� Tout d’abord, un grand merci pour ce bel article qui égaie une journée d’automne déjà bien ensoleillée. Je m’appelle Margot, j’ai 24 ans et je vis à Paris depuis quelques mois maintenant ! Je dessine moi aussi depuis toute petite mais je n’ai jamais eu le cran de réellement me lancer dans un métier artistique.. Mon grand souhait serait pourtant de devenir graphiste ou illustratrice �� Peut-être un jour ? Tu es en tout cas une grande source d’inspiration et d’admiration pour moi haha !! Merci de nous faire rêver et de partager tout ce que tu nous partage au quotidien ❤️ Bisous, Margot
RépondreSupprimerCoucou Margot !
SupprimerMerci beaucoup pour ton commentaire, ça me fait vraiment plaisir de te lire ! Je suis très touchée que l'idée du blog et des articles te plaise :-)
Oh, et puis aussi, on a le même âge ! Que fais-tu dans la vie du coup, est-ce pour le travail que tu es allée à Paris ? (Que de questions ! Si tu n'as pas envie d'y répondre je comprendrai tout à fait bien sûr !).
En tout cas, si tu rêves de faire des illustrations ou du graphisme, n'hésite pas ! Comme ça commence en général petit à petit, c'est tout à fait possible d'essayer en parallèle d'un autre travail (je l'ai fait pendant quelques mois, et même si ça demande pas mal d'énergie et de temps, si c'est ce qu'on veut vraiment, c'est faisable ♥). Un rêve, ça vaut le coup d'être réalisé :-)
Merci en tout cas pour tes mots tout doux, ils me vont droit au coeur et me donnent un grand sourire ! C'est très motivant ♥
Je t'envoie plein de bisous et un bon bol d'air frais de la campagne hihi :-)
A bientôt !
Cécile
Hello! My name is Ira and I adore your illustrations. I live in Moscow, Russia and I like to draw and work as a graphic designer. But my dream is to become an illustrator:) Also I can make floral and other patterns, but I think it’s very interesting to create some characters. So I have a question: what did you start with in illustration?
RépondreSupprimerThanks for your creativity, it is very inspiring!
Hiii Ira ! Your comment is so sweet, thank you ♥
SupprimerI think making patterns is such a nice skill ! I am really bad at this so I admire people who can create pretty patterns. That's so great ! And I'm sure that, if you're dreaming of being an illustrator, it will happen someday ! It requires hard work and patience, but good things happen ♥
Thank you so much for your question by the way ! That could be a topic for another article ^_^ But to make it short : I have been drawing forever, and the thing I used to love drawing most when I was younger was people, imaginary characters, mostly women. But then I realised that I needed to practice many more things in order to be able to tell a story, so I started focusing on animals, plants, nature... and now I'm really bad for characters because I have much more fun painting nature things haha ! So I will need to start practicing again for human characters :-)
I send you lots of love, and many many thanks for your support and kindness ♥
Cécile
Hello from the USA (Seattle, Washington to be exact)! I just adore your illustrations and writings on Instagram and was excited to see you have a YouTube channel and blog.
RépondreSupprimerHello Jaime !
SupprimerI'm so glad I get to speak with people who live so far away from me. Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words. They really mean a lot to me and keep me going ♥
Sending you lots of love from the french countryside !
Cécile
Hello Cécile! Thank you for always sharing you wonderful work and kind words, it's truly a gift for my days. My name is Katleen and I make watercolor art, I'm trying to explore other mediums as well as increase my skill in what I already know. I am currently in love with a tiny puppy one of my dogs just had and I'm enjoying this cold wintery weather. I hope your day is filled with joy as well!
RépondreSupprimerDear Katleen,
SupprimerNice to meet you here :-D
I am not a dog person, but I have to say it happened many times that puppies stole my heart !! They're so cute ♥ And baby animals are such a sweet company, they make you forget about all the problems !
I hope you are enjoying a beautiful cozy day with this little furry friend :-)
Sending you lots of love !
Cécile
Hi there Cecile!
RépondreSupprimerMy name is Jackie (@plantbasedjackie)and wow I’m so excited for this blog! I love reading the things you write us on Instagram and can’t wait to read more on here. I adore your illustrations and they just brighten my day and make me feel cozy if that makes any sense lol. I am an architecture student from Los Angeles. Can’t wait to share more things with you in the future! I have not been so active with you through Instagram but I will sure change that now :)
Love always,
Jackie
Hello dear Jackie !
SupprimerOh I am so happy that you wrote me here :-) It's always a joy to get to read about the people who follow my work ! So it's nice meeting you ♥
Los Angeles must have such beautiful places to visit ! Palm trees make me daydream always haha (here is more of a Christmas pine tree kind of place !).
Many thanks for your support, it's really encouraging and means a lot to me ♥
Lots of love to you, all the way from France ! (Probably through airplane haha)
Cécile
(PS : I just looked at your Instagram profile, and you are so prettyyyyy)
Hi Cecile ♥️ I’m Holly and I live in a city called Hull in the north of England. I love your illustrations so much and you seem like such a lovely and genuine person :) I am also learning French and I think your account came onto my explore page because I am trying to follow more French people��
RépondreSupprimerPlease also say a little hello to your kitten from my three cat children, Otto, Custard and Betsy ��
Hi Holly ! (I love your name ♥)
SupprimerSo glad to read from you here :-) I used to live in England for a year for an erasmus exchange, and I fell in love with this country ! Unfortunately, I never really had the opportunity to visit the countryside (buses to go to the countryside are not that common), but I really hope I can visit someday ! Is Hull a big city ? :-)
If you ever feel like writing in French, I'd be happy to correspond if you want to practice ! I can even give you my email address if you feel like it. I would have loved to have native English people to write to when I was learning the language, so if you feel like it I'd be happy to do so in French ^_^
Lots of love for you and your little kittens (Marcel is sending a big hug as well !)
Many thanks for your kindness and support !
Have a lovely automn-y day ♥
Cécile
Hello! I love your work and I'm thrilled to learn that you have a blog. In fact your positive letters and messages on instagram are one of the main reasons I started to follow you. It's so nice to find a little bit of positivity in this world today.
RépondreSupprimerAs for introducing myself, my name is Sarah and I am currently trying to build my illustration skills (albeit, very slowly). In the meantime, I work in a library and a kids bookstore.
Dear Sarah,
SupprimerNice to meet you ! Thank you so much for writing to me here ♥
Working in a library was my dream while studying in high school ! (Well, being an illustrator was my biggest dream, but I was so scared that I searched for other jobs to do, and I loved the idea of working in a library - taking care of books, give advices to people, being in such a quiet place, surrounded by beautiful stories and great authors ♥). And I think working in a kids bookstore must be amazing as well ! It's like you combine all the jobs I'm dreaming of haha :-)
I'm sure someday you will have your own children's book on those shelves. Working for our dreams take time, lots of efforts and patience, but I am convinced it always pays off if we put our hearts in it. No matter if we go slow, fast or whatever direction we take, it will work !
By the way, do you have any Instagram account or website where I could see some of your artwork ? I would love to ! ♥
I hope you have a lovely day,
Filled with all sorts of beautiful things :-)
Love,
Cécile
Cécile,
SupprimerThank you so much for your kind response! I do admit, working in a library and kids bookstore is pretty cool. Especially when I get to make suggestions to people. I love pointing out my favorite books.
Thank you for the encouragement as well. Hopefully my snails pace will pay off for me in the future.
I do have an Instagram, You can find me at @uncannydreams, my name is Sarah Timberlake. I would be honored if you visited my page. :)
I hope you have a wonderful day as well.
-Sarah T
P.S.
I fear I may have sent this response twice. I am on my phone and it doesn't work well with certain websites. If I spammed you with my response, I apologize!
Bonjour Cécile, I have my cup of tea in hand!! My name is Sophie, I live in Perth Australia. I have lived here for 35 years but was born in Belgium. I understand French but am terrible at writing it. I love to draw and paint. I mainly use gouache and have created a line of greeting cards. My instagram page is @clindoeilillo. As of today, because of your inspiration, I have started a second instagram page @mouquetterie, dedicated to ideas, using pencil and watercolour. Keep up the beautiful illustrations and warm videos and blog!!!
RépondreSupprimerBonjour dear Sophie ! :-)
SupprimerThat's so nice of you to take the time to write here ! I can recognize your user name @clindoeillillo from Instagram. So happy to see you here as well !
Anyway, Australia must be such a breathtaking country. It has some of the weirdest and most impressive animals, so I'm sure it must be the same for landscapes haha :-)
Oh and I'm honoured that you did start an illustration page after seeing my illustration ! It is one of the things that make me the happiest, if I can make others want to create as well. I'm sure we all have beautiful things inside us that only ask to get out to the world, whether it is with writing, drawing, music, theatre, cooking, dancing, or any other way !
By the way, I just had a look at your profile, and that little crying elephant got my heart ! It is so sweet and heart-touching. I can't wait to see more !
Thank you for being so sweet to me,
Sending you lots of love from my tiny desk ♥
Cécile
Hia there, Cecile, I'm guessing that is your name. Yeah it is great to use a keyboard to be able to chat properly without having to write tiny texts! It's Rubana here from Crimson Letters.
RépondreSupprimerI love your illustrations and it is great for me as an artist to see what you do, it helps to inspire me on as well.
I read somewhere, in quite a few places actually that it is blogging regularly that makes a difference, but that is so hard for me to do. I am trying to get better and blog once a week, but in the end I only seem to be able to manage blogging once every three weeks. I am trying as well!
I loved seeing some behind the scenes of your little cat in the video.
By the way I was studying int he Nottingham Trent University for 3 years!
Hello Rubana, dear technology/social media teacher haha !
SupprimerI'm really glad to see you here as I told you :-) And yes, being able to write with a keyboard is always a relief for me after typing with the phone ! So much more comfortable !!
And I totally agree that blogging regularly is very hard, especially to come up with interesting topics !! I don't want to find myself rumbling about nonsense just because I need to write haha -- but I'm sure with practice we'll manage that !
Oh and, Nottingham Trent was my first wish when I applied for the Erasmus program in uni ! I ended up in Leicester (which I don't regret because it was one of the most beautiful year of my life), but Nottingham Trend always rings a bell and makes me smile because it makes me think about that :-) Maybe we've been living very close to each other at that time without knowing it haha !
Sending you lots of love and warm tea,
Cécile ♥
Bonjour Cécile !
RépondreSupprimerJe m'appelle Claire, j'ai tout presque 25 ans (demain à vrai dire) et je suis ton travail sur Instagram depuis quelques temps maintenant. J'habite en région parisienne, à Melun depuis septembre, dans un centre-ville très mignon. C'est un beau département, la forêt de Fontainebleau n'est pas loin et est magnifique, et il y a plein de beaux villages aux alentours avec le charme des vieilles pierres. J'aime les livres et les vieilles choses, les belles images, la nature (j'ai étudié l'archéologie et la littérature de jeunesse, ceci explique cela).
Merci pour la poésie, la douceur, la tendresse parfois qui se dégage de ton écriture et de tes vidéos. On se sent accueillis comme à la maison. Voir tes belles illustrations tous les jours, c'est un émerveillement à chaque fois.
J'ai hâte de te lire encore un peu plus sur ce blog, sur tes livres préférés, ton matériel, l'ouverture de ta boutique.
Je te souhaite une belle journée,
Claire (@claire.lebu)
Bonjour Claire !
SupprimerMerci beaucoup pour ton message, ça me fait vraiment plaisir ♥ J'avais peur de me retrouver toute seule sur ce blog, alors ça fait chaud au coeur de pouvoir discuter comme ça :-)
Et puis comme je réponds un jour plus tard, j'imagine que c'est ton anniversaire ? Alors BON ANNIVERSAIRE ! C'est rigolo, le mien est le 16 Octobre, pile un mois de différence !
Je ne connais pas du tout Melun, mais ce que tu décris donne très envie. Bêtement, je m'imagine toujours que vivre en région parisienne signifie beaucoup de macadam et de béton et peu de verdure, mais c'est faux !
Tes études aussi ont l'air super - j'avais eu un seul petit cours de littérature de jeunesse dans ma licence de lettres modernes, mais ça m'avait vraiment plu !! Du coup, que fais-tu comme métier maintenant ? :-)
Merci beaucoup beaucoup pour ton message en tout cas, lire des mots si gentils c'est très motivant et donne envie de travailler encore plus dur ! Ca me touche beaucoup ♥
Je te souhaite une journée toute douce et remplie de plein de joies diverses et variées !
A bientôt,
Cécile
PS : je serai en dédicace à Châtenay-Malabry, dans la banlieue de Paris, le Samedi 24/11 à partir de 13H, puis au Salon de Montreuil les samedi 1er et dimanche 2 Décembre pendant l'après-midi ! Comme tu es aux alentours de Paris, je ne sais pas si tu as prévu d'y aller ? Ce serait très chouette de pouvoir discuter en vrai :-)
Hello! I’m so glad you posted this blog post! I’m Kaitlynn! I’m 25 and living in Iowa (U.S.) with my husband and daughter, Eva. My husband is going to Chiropractic college here while I stay at home teaching my almost 4-year-old how to read. I love to draw, illustrate, sing and write. Sometimes I don’t get the time to practice these things because my daughter stays home with me. It can be discouraging at times but I do what I can when there’s time. I’m also reminded that I get to spend this precious time with my daughter, so it makes it worth it. We’re going to go see The Nutcracker soon, so maybe I can draw something related to the ballet a little a day 😊. I think it’s great thing for you to put up this blog post and meet new people; I hope you keep it up! I don’t think blogging is dying, especially with people like you making an effort to keep it going. Thanks 😊
RépondreSupprimerHello, beautiful Cécile. My name is Mariana Flores and im from México, and im so in love with every post or story that u make, it's so so beautiful and make me feel like i have to take my brush back and start again with my own art. Let me tell u sommething, my grandma was an artist, she paint so much beautiful thibgs, so every time i went to her house, she have me my own painting and brush to paint and make what i want. She taach me how to make my own watercolor and gis pastel (i don't really know the name of them in english, sorry). So, paint something by my own really make my heart feel full. But now i have two little ones and its hard take time for me time, but im definitely going to teach them this beautiful art. Thank u so much for being so wonderful and cute. I really feel so happy when im read u. Also, i want to tell u that im a baker mom, and my 2year old always help me to make cakes and cookies, jaja that was just a funny fact. I send u all my love from the other side of the charco, as always 💖
RépondreSupprimerHello dear Mariana - I think we talked a bit on Instagram didn't we ? I remember you told me your name was about flowers ♥ I love it so much ! :-)
SupprimerAnd this story about your grandma is very beautiful and heart-touching, thank you so much for taking the time to share it with me. It makes me believe that every one of us can be talented in art (any kind of art, from drawing to dancing, cooking, singing...), because it is not so much as a "gift" one has, it is more about the love and practice we put in it. And this story with you grandma is so full of love ! It makes me happy to read :-)
Oh and also imagining you and your little one cooking together is such a sweet picture ! I love baking but I'm not so good at that, I'd rather eat the wonderful cake of people who are much better than I haha ♥
I send you all my love,
And I hope your day is wonderful.
Take care,
Cécile
Coucou Cécile
RépondreSupprimerC’est Mimi des Pays-Bas. Je ne savais pas que tu avais un blog. C’est superbe.
I’m not an artist but I like to paint and draw. I started to take a course in painting in September to learn tricks and to understand better what I like to do. Unfortunately I’m not sure it was the right decision... when I’m there I just cannot enjoy painting anymore. And I cannot relax. It seems that I just want to ‘play’ ... painting or drawing what I feel like. But the teacher doesn’t ‘let me’. He has other plans. I experience that I cannot enjoy painting if someone tells me what to paint with which colors.... I feel bad but I feel like quitting the course. I feel like a coward. Does this make any sense to you? Sorry for this negative story. I just never thought it would go this way... i would like to know whether other people feel or have ever felt the same in art school?
At the moment I’m reading a nice book about Klimt’s modèle: Adèle Bloch-Bauer. Je le lis en français. Le début, bien que tragique,me donne envie de lire la suite.
Je te souhaite une très bonne continuation. J’adore ton livre. Je vais suivre ton blog :)
Biz 😘 Mimi
Hi Mimi !
SupprimerSo happy to see you here :-)
And I totally understand what you mean - it can be difficult to enjoy creating when there is too much restriction. Drawing or painting should be something we enjoy and have fun with, especially when we don't do it professionally but during our free time. However, I think that restrictions and rules are also very useful to improve ourselves ! It makes us practice things we are not comfortable about or wouldn't feel drawn to at first sight, but we might end up really liking drawing them !
I remember when I took my first and only illustration class, I was always disagreeing with the teacher because she had a "lighter", more colourful and joyfeul style than I - and I wanted something more quiet and poetical. But in the end, when I look back, I realize that she also brought me a lot with this different point of view, and that, even if I stay true to what I love, I also integrated a bit of her point of view in my work, and (I think) it improved it.
However, if you do feel blocked with this class, of course there's no need to feel guilty or ashamed to stop it ! It is very important that you have a good time while drawing - it would be sad not to want to draw anymore because of a bad experience...
Maybe it is also about matching personalities, maybe this teacher is a good one but not the best for you, and you will find a class someday that will suit you best ! :-)
Anyway, thank you so much for your message, it is something so interesting to talk about, and it always feels good to share the bad stuff as well, because we feel less alone about them afterwards. Thank you ♥
Sending you lots of love !
Cécile
Hello, Cécile!
RépondreSupprimerOne friend of mine shared with me your Instagram some time ago. I was instantly fascinated by how you draw with these pale and very calming colors, how you capture your process with all these pencils and brushes and little things, and how you..write. It reminds me those precious days of "the birth" of the Internet (at least in my country, almost 15! years ago) when there were no Instagram, Facebook etc. But there was LiveJournal where people wrote a lot. It was like diary sometimes or even like a pages from book. With pictures and genuine comments. It was a big part of my life. Place where I found real friends even from different countries and met them ten years later in real life with feeling that this isn't our first meeting, like we drink coffee and laugh many times (and just like I met my boyfriend and we have been living separated by borders for 7 years now).
I miss that "era" of blogs and long texts. Instagram is great for sharing pictures and moments (although with the appearing of advertising, I have a desire to delete it sometimes). And yes, now we can look through it with browser and even write comments from computer, but it still remains a mobile application? Reading long post while you are in the subway? Better than not reading at all, since you have no free time besides this, but...it's not the same as you read it relaxed at home. I wonder how you type these long post, as for me it is a pain typing on a smartphone.
I draw and take pictures so once I had a blog too (http://rinomonsta.blogspot.com) But. I'm from Ukraine. With the development of the Internet, I didn’t want to be limited only to my Ukrainian or Russian speaking people, I wanted to communicate with the whole world, and so I began to blog in English. But it is very difficult for me to write in this not native language (although I read other people's posts and even books). Post to twitter, where it's only 140 characters, could take half a day to me =) So now I upload mostly pictures. And that is why I still could not leave comments on your Instagram, because I wanted to write more than just “beautiful”, etc. But then you wrote about the blog and I decided that I need to tell how it's amazing even with errors, I hope you will understand me). Btw, very often I don't look through all feed, but just go directly to the profile/blog I have mood to read. I mostly remember all my favorite accounts)
Thank you for these warm "letters" and nostalgic feeling when internet wasn't this "cold" and packed with ads and fake lives.
When I look at your traditional media illustrations I want to try too. I'm so afraid of it. It's hard when you haven't ctrl+z.. �� I only like to do very loose sketches with red-blue koh-i-noor pencil https://www.instagram.com/p/BmIgUt-Fsm0/ mostly on copy paper, while I have a dozen of sketchbooks in my box =)
So, I'm Katerina/Rin, 31 y.o. from this region of Ukraine https://youtu.be/dCD7zK38Seo and I'm self-taught artist with major in geography)
I lived with my cat Syoma for 20 years. 6 years without now. I miss him terribly.
I love autumn, pumpkins, writing letters on paper, stationery (especially, Japanese washi tapes), hiking in our mountains and dreaming about visiting Japan one day. By the way, I think Japanese are incredible photographers, I adore film photos and want to share with you some profiles:
https://somewhere3340.tumblr.com/
http://happymiko.tumblr.com/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/soreikea/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ogitaro/
https://www.instagram.com/i_yoccco/
https://www.instagram.com/miw__s/
Ah, this message is already too long) It's very inspiring to see self-taught artists. I wish you all the best, especially with your online shop!
Sincerely,
Rin
Dear Rin,
SupprimerI don't know where to start. Actually, yes I do : thank you. Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me so completely, it feels so nice to read all this and know a bit more about yourself - and I think your point of view is so interesting !
I feel the same as you - I hate typing on the phone and seeing all the notifications, and if it was not because I need to work, I would have been away for Instagram for quite a while now ! But this is the best way for me to get commissions and to be able to pay the bills, so I have to restrict myself and keep posting and writing there regularly. But it can become really stressful and put a lot of pressure on oneself ! So I try to take it easy.
And then, lately, I realized that I have fewer audience on my account (I don't have as much time to post every day so I think it is one of the reasons), and somebody suggested I go back to my blog. And I love it so much ! I almost forgot how good it feels to write whatever we want, in the format we want, without hashtags, posting random pictures and everything. It feels more real.
I had a look at your blog and I think it is amazing !! I love your doodles and illustrations ! And I see what you mean about being scared to go back to traditional mediums: but please don't be !!! There's nothing holding you back : if you do something you don't like, you just don't have to show it to anybody ! :-) Practice will help you feel more confident - and moreover, creating is not about making something perfect, but about having fun and staying true to yourself ! So I'm sure you would really love the process ♥ I really recommend you try, forget about all the social medias, and just draw for yourself without having expectations, but just to have fun. And I'm sure you would come up with a great result ! I realized I painted my favourite paintings when I was only painting randomly for myself and not panning to share it.
I also had a look at the photographers you shared here, and I think it is so so beautiful !! I also have a few Japanese photographers I follow on Instagram and their work is amazing. I don't know why, but Japanese arts always touch my heart : whether it is Ghibli movies, animes, ancient paintings and engravings, contemporary illustration or photographers... I feel like they know how to catch the beautiful feelings we can have with simple things. It feels true and real - well, probably not every Japanese artist is like that of course, but at least there are so many I love for this reason !
Many, many thanks for sharing all this with me. You really made me smile. And that feels so good ! I was having a not-so-good day and now I feel much better. Thank you :-)
I send you all my love from my grey town, and I'm very happy to meet you ♥
Cécile
Thank you for your kind words, Cécile! ♥ I definitely will try to do more traditional art. And I'm looking forward to reading your new blog writings and watching your warm Bits & pieces ♥
SupprimerThankyou so much Cécile, you are the sweetest!!
RépondreSupprimerYes Australia is truly unique. I absolutely love it. If you ever get the chance to visit, I am sure you would be inspired.
Enjoy the rest of the week!! ❤️👋🏻
Bonjour Cécile,
RépondreSupprimerInstagram est un bel outil pour découvrir des petites pépites comme ton travail, mais les blogs sont des espaces qui permettent plus de faire les choses comme on le souhaite.
Je m'appelle Amália, j'ai 26 ans, j'ai fait des études en arts appliqués et vêtement mais le milieu de "la mode" ne m'a finalement pas tellement donné envie, ce n'est pas ma place. De fil en aiguille je suis allée vers le spectacle vivant et maintenant je travaille pour plusieurs compagnies de théâtre et cirque. C'est passionnant mais ça ne me laisse pas assez de temps pour faire ce que j'aime le plus au monde : écrire et illustrer.
Ton travail, que j'aime particulièrement - c'est-à-dire au-dessus de toutes les autres illustratrices que je connais - m'inspire beaucoup beaucoup et me donne la motivation de me dire que dans quelques mois, je ferai en sorte d'avoir plus de temps pour dessiner et écrire. En ce moment, autant que possible je le fais, mais c'est trop peu. Grâce à toi, j'ai ressorti ma palette d'aquarelle et je m'entraîne, ça porte ses fruits. Je prépare un recueil de poésies illustré :3
Bravo pour ce que tu fais et dégages, tu dois être une belle personne.
Bonjour Amalia (pardon, je n'ai pas trouvé le bon accent pour le A dans mon clavier !),
SupprimerEt merci beaucoup pour ton commentaire qui me rend toute contente ♥
C'est vraiment très gentil de ta part de prendre le temps de m'écrire par ici, et lire tes mots pleins de douceur et de bienveillance est très motivant.
C'est très intéressant de voir comme nos études ne nous mènent finalement pas toujours là où on l'avait prévu ! Et puis finalement, on se rend compte que même lorsqu'on ne travaille pas dans le domaine de nos études, celles-ci nous enrichissent tout de même de mille choses intéressantes que l'on peut utiliser.
En tout cas, travailler pour le théâtre et le cirque doit être magique ! Est-ce que tu es sur scène, ou est-ce que tu travailles sur les costumes ? C'est un monde que je connais très peu, mais je trouve ça fascinant.
Je comprends tout à fait ton envie de dessiner, j'avais moi aussi cette envie toujours présente lors de mes études et autres petits jobs, de me dire que oui, c'était chouette, mais ce n'était pas ce que je voulais vraiment faire au fond de moi. Je te souhaite en tout cas de trouver le meilleur moyen pour toi d'illustrer, et j'espère que cela te rendra très heureuse ! C'est parfois difficile, mais je trouve que ça vaut le coup :-) ♥
Encore merci pour ton message tout doux, il m'a donné le sourire.
Je t'envoie plein de jolies pensées et de thé bien chaud (si tu aimes ça bien sûr !)
A bientôt,
Cécile
Hiiii again Cecile ♥️
RépondreSupprimerI’d love to correspond with you in French- what is your email address? :)
Hull is not a very big town in England and not much happens here!
Hope you’re having a lovely autumn day, it is very foggy here at the moment ♥️