This is my cat, Margherita, the last addition to the family here at Cat Cottage. Well, this is her portrait of course, the first 10-minute sketch I made in a long time.

I currently have a so-called day job and very little time to draw. I plan to leave this job as soon as possible because it is slowly killing me and my creativity. It’s so bad when you don’t have the time to do what you feel like you were born to do only because you have to survive, pay the bills and fit into modern slavery (because this is what we’re talking about). Anyways, there is absolutely no freaking way I’m going to give up doing what I want to do and live the life I want to live.

For how things are now, finding the time to do things you like is a rebellious act.

So, last night I was planning how to find the time to draw every day no matter what and remembered what I used to do when I had a career in interior design and as much free time as I have now (almost none). I did this simple but efficient and fun exercise: I’d set a timer for the time I could draw and draw until the alarm went off. When the time was up, what was done was done.

I currently have a few days off from work and am supposed to have time to draw, but I’m tired. I feel in complete burnout, like a dried flower. But because of what I said before, I wanted to draw ANYWAY.

So I decided to go for a quick sketch, set a 10-minute timer, took a photo of Margherita from a few days ago and just whipped a portrait. It is what it is, the result is far from being perfect. This exercise is great for when you have no time and no inspiration because in the end you’ll have done something, and your inspiration will magically come back. Also, perfection is not the goal, it’s the opposite! It’s about letting go of the strive to reach perfection and enjoy drawing. And it is a great tool if you tend to doubt every brushstroke as I do because, with a limited time, you have no time to doubt!

Set a 10-minute timer and sketch, have fun!