Dark Days

Winter is (still) here, and what do we do with that. We go into podcasts, and submerge our heads into tv series (and food.)

It’s dark in here. With only 27 hours of sunshine recorded in the entire month of December (according to NL Times, where sunshine is defined as "the sun being slightly visible through the clouds and overall gloom") and even less this ongoing January, there’s nothing better for me to do than to provide you with some solid indoor entertainment recommendations, in case you’re in a similar situation yourselves (I know you’re not though).

The Menu for This Week

🌳 A Podcast Episode

🌳 A Week in The Life

🌳 Do you know Mr Milchick?

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A Podcast

I was delighted to be a guest on the

Notes on Illustration

by The Illustration Department Podcast, which got published just this Monday. Delighted AND stressed! Only after our chat did I realize that I hadn’t exactly answered all the questions directly - not because I didn’t want to, but because of my funny and previously mentioned auditory processing disorder.

There are no subtitles in a podcast (and I love subtitles, put them on everything please!). There was no preparation on my part, and I love being prepared (#unagi). Plus, being spontaneous and improvising aren’t exactly qualities that describe me as a person (time to overthink everything is appreciated).

But I think we had a lovely conversation about illustration, social media, mental health, the freelance art career, and many other things that just came up naturally.

I’ve been so happy to see that so many different parts of the conversation resonated with you and inspired you, in such a short time! Hearing that something I mentioned, shared, or showed was helpful to fellow artists out there fills me with tremendous satisfaction and makes it all so worthwhile.

So without further ado, tune in! If you’re unfamiliar with the Illustration Department Podcast, you can find it on Spotify or YouTube.

Thanks to Giuseppe for having me as a guest!

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A Week(ish) in The Life

I jinxed it. I knew the risk of bragging about how efficient I’ve been recently with filming, editing, and sharing YouTube videos, but I did it anyway. And now, on the day I’m writing this note, a whole month has passed since my last video. Not happy about that!

The main reason for my longer-than-I-wanted YT absence is kind of funny, read on.

One afternoon, while walking home, I found an old candle holder in the trash on a street, picked it up like a crazed raccoon, and brought it back with me. This whole vision popped into my head: me upcycling this trash-find into a masterpiece and documenting the process for a YouTube video.

But then I thought: who would even want to watch that? Is it even interesting? Plus, with the darkness covering Amsterdam in the past two months, it didn’t matter how many lights I had on and how early I would sit down to work - the video turned out dark as, well… hell, rendering it as unaesthetic as a video can be.

Then I did some short traveling, threw myself back into work, and got swallowed by deadlines. Aaaand a whole month flew by, leaving me with some incoherent pieces of a candleholder mid-bedazzling.

And, #obsessions, I can’t move on to the next thing without finishing what I’ve already started…

That said, I never actually shared my last video here, so it feels like the perfect time to do so. It’s a weekly vlog - a type of video you’ve always said you enjoy. I like this one. It’s not the most structured or traditional format, but it is very authentic. Here it is:

And don’t worry (I know you weren’t) - there will be some candlestick-upcycling action in a future video. No footage goes to waste.

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Mr Milkshake ..?

Everyone is buzzing about Severance. And for good reason - what a show! If you haven’t watched it yet because you don’t trust the hype (understandable, hype often leads to disappointment), let me be one more person to recommend it to you.

Masterfully directed with an intriguing concept, it’s one of those shows you just can’t turn off. It literally has your butt glued to the sofa and peepers to the screen. Cause you just need to know what.happens.next!

With Season 2 out now, we decided to rewatch Season 1 since our memories failed us on too many things regarding the plot. And good thing we did, because guess what… we never actually watched the last episode of the first season! We stopped at the penultimate one, assuming it was the finale. Life probably got busy.

Anyway, the last episode of Season 1 is so good! Now I’m off to watch the latest one.

Let me know if you’re watching too - no spoilers, please!

TV Time

There’s a highly requested video (or rather videos, plural) coming up on my channel soon about work organization as a creative freelancer - managing all the creative and business aspects and juggling multiple projects. It seems like a lot of you guys struggle with this really important aspect of freelance work.

Before I even sit down to make those videos, here’s the secret to my awesome organization: I take notes. Of literally everything. If it’s not written down, I’ll forget it the next second. I don’t even remember my own phone number. But I do have it written down!

The key is to write everything down in the right place.

The only reason I almost never recommend videos or series is that I forget what I’ve watched and seen. That’s not happening anymore! I found an app where you can track what you’ve been watching, sort of like Goodreads, but for both, series and movies, and it keeps track of everything for you.

The app knows what I like and watch, so it always suggests the next episodes or movies I might enjoy. It cuts down the endless scrolling so much. If that sounds like something you’d find useful, the app is called TV Time. (By the way, this isn’t sponsored and nobody’s paying me – although they really could, right? - just a personal recommendation ).

Remember to leave a comment cause I love reading you guys and know that somebody is on the other side:)

Till the next one!

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