20 Comments

"Puddlegate": 🙂😂 Those potholes look menacing. Your feet drawings are very nice, but in my letter in response I'll include my own drawings of feet, both with and without shoes. I think you'll like them. 🙃

Expand full comment
author

Thanks, Terry!

Careful, some people have got a thing about feet! You might pick up a whole new following... 😉

Expand full comment

Lovely letter, Rebecca! I do love these letter exchanges. I, too, struggle to edit myself in conversation. I wonder if it’s a common affliction among writers- those of us who were simply born with a lot to say.

Expand full comment
author

You're so kind - thanks, Camille! I love what you've said about the struggle to edit yourself in conversation being something that might be common to writers - that's interesting!

'Born with a lot to say' - I can absolutely identify with this - my mum always tells me that I was born speaking in sentences! As a child - and I remember this from when I was very little - I would do all the talking for both myself and my older brother. He still can't get a word in edgeways, poor chap! 🤣

Expand full comment

I’m sure many brothers can relate! Including, at times, my own

Expand full comment
author

🤣 I'm always going to be that irritating baby sister! We're 48 and 49 now, but we're still exactly the same as we ever were!

Expand full comment

Thoroughly enjoyed your drawings! Keep at it :-)

Expand full comment
author

That's so kind of you, Jacquie - thank you! I haven't done anything arty for absolutely ages, but I enjoyed flicking through my art journals to take a couple of snaps yesterday. And just this afternoon I've read a post about making an altered book, which has inspired me hugely!

https://jessicamaybury.substack.com/p/making-art-in-books-you-already-own

So: I might even chuck some paint around at the weekend....

Expand full comment

I hear you! I haven't done anything arty in ages either, despite buying a watercolor set after convincing myself it would be less labor intensive than oils so I would have no excuse not to use them. Good intentions and all that... The book project looks cool :-) Have fun with it!

Expand full comment

Beautiful drawings and artwork Rebecca! I also added Stephen King's book to my list! My book stack is growing everyday. :)

Expand full comment

Great letter!

I enjoyed your drawings. Just remember, everyone has to start some place. Those are very good.

You don't even want to see what mine looked like when I started to draw. You couldn't even make out what it was supposed to be. There are some things you just can't draw. But then I probably tried to do a hard subject. The books I've read said you should start with something simple.

On your mixed media, they are all great. I like the windy day the best.

Stephen King's book is on my list too.

Expand full comment
Jan 19, 2023Liked by Rebecca Holden

I had no idea you were such a brilliant artist! So happy you included those pictures!

Expand full comment
author

That's such a lovely thing to say, Jillian! I love being creative, but have never really had any confidence to help me to develop a regular practice of making art. That course I took in 2020 was brilliant - participants needed no experience at all, just a willingness to go for it. The thing I love about mixed media is that 'more is more' - if you don't like what's on the page, heck, just chuck some more paint/found objects/ink/scribbles/collage on there! Kind of the opposite of editing.....! 🤣

This letter to Terry, and a post I read yesterday, have encouraged me to set aside more time for this kind of creativity.

Expand full comment
author

That's so kind, Matt - thank you!

The Stephen King book is absolutely brilliant - I haven't read any of his fiction, nor seen any (or perhaps just one or two, maybe?) of the film adaptations of this books - but gosh, reading this memoir is SUCH an education, and it's a book that's really easy to dip in and out of, which suits me perfectly.

Expand full comment

I almost missed this post. It wasn't a direct reply to me, that is why. Luckily, I went back to read other responses.

I haven't read any of his fiction books or seen the films either. It's interesting to read memoirs to see what people have gone through to get to where they are.

Expand full comment
author

Gosh, glad you'd spotted it, Matt - sorry about that!

Expand full comment

I'm going to be bold, and suggest that *all* your denial issues can be blamed on Bleak House.

Wait though, I have logic!

*I* did Bleak House for A Level, and I *also* have vast swathes of denial, adorning every horizontal (and, if drawing pins are available, vertical) surface.

I rest my case! (Unevenly, atop that heap of unread magazines)

It was blooming *chancery* what done it. We should be compensated! We could take it to court. Oh. Wait...

Expand full comment
author

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, Jackie! We're 'Dedlocked' together....!!!!!!! 🤣

Expand full comment
Jan 20, 2023·edited Jan 20, 2023Liked by Rebecca Holden

I'm accused by husband of digressions he can't follow--though the transition may be in my head, I forget to include it. And this week while driving I hit one of those potholes on Sunset Blvd, apparently due to the deluges of rain we had in Los Angeles (hello, global warming) and I ended up with a flat tire. That ruined my day because I had to drive on the flat tire to get home where the car could then be towed, and we needed two new tires to balance the car properly. We have only one car. In LA if you don't have a car, and don't live near the limited public transportation, you're essentially under house arrest--that's where I've been for this week. I love Stephen King's _On Writing_ because it's more memoir than toolbox, a wise and moving way to explain his process. What a grand letter, Rebecca, and I love your artwork. xo ~ Mary

Expand full comment
author

Oh no, Mary - what a pain! Glad you got it sorted - but gosh, TWO tyres to replace....! I can't believe the rate at which our roads seem to be disintegrating over here. Hope you're doing okay in all that rain over there - what I've heard on the news sounds really scary.

That book is great, isn't it? Memoir is my favourite genre both to read and to write, and although I haven't read any of Stephen King's other books, I absolutely can't put this one down! I'm learning so much.

Thank you for your very kind words, Mary. Much appreciated, as always.

Expand full comment