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slightly astray

an honest look at life on the road

When the words don’t come… draw! (Life Lately from Taipei)

Please forgive me for being so inconsistent with blogging these days. I’ve always been a fan of the “if the words aren’t coming, then don’t blog just to keep a schedule” mindset.

I’ve kept it no secret about my love-hate relationship with blogging and the cyclical slumps I seem to get. And lately, I’ve been in one of those. My mind can’t seem to formulate words into pleasing sentences and just the thought of opening up WordPress stresses me out.

But the thing is, this slump isn’t like the others past. I’ve been brimming with creativity and inspiration… probably more so than I’ve ever felt. Just not for writing.

I’ve recently rediscovered my love for drawing and got myself a sketchbook and the most basic drawing supplies. I’ve been spending hours of my day with my head bent over a clean, fresh sheet of paper, under the blazing glow of a desk lamp, my fingers cramping as slowly images form out of the the wispy strokes of a pencil tip.

Eventually, I thought, why not channel that artistic inspiration into blogging as well? And so, I have decided to chronicle my adventures in an art journal. Yep, old school style. It’s been so fun and incredibly therapeutic putting it together. So here is what I’ve been up to for the past few weeks in sketches!

(click on the images for larger sizes… I need to figure out a way to take higher quality photos…)

Taipei-update-1


Taipei-update-2

Taipei-update-3

And that basically sums up the past few weeks in Taipei. :) I’m so excited to settle here for a a little bit through the end of this year. Taipei really is one of my favorite cities in the world.

I know at times, this blog seems completely unfocused, seeming to be neither here nor there. I bare my soul and talk about food and sometimes about puppies and now this is perhaps the strangest post I have ever done. I guess this blog is aptly named Slightly Astray for a few reasons. And that is just life too, isn’t it. Life is random and unpredictable and hell, even now at the age of 29, I find myself still uncertain and staring down multiple roads. Maybe this is the year I figure it out? :)

What do you guys think of this post format? Would you like to see future ones like this? :) 

And P.S. Here‘s a peek at one of my most recent sketchings. 

Comments

  1. Oh man, I really love this! What a great idea – I wish I were just a 1/1000th as talented as you are!

  2. Happy belated birthday! I can relate to the blogging slump, sometimes I have the ideas to write a post, but can’t actually get the words out on paper (well in a Word Doc). But gosh your drawings are so pretty! I would probably draw all day if I had your talent.

    • Thanks Estrella! I know exactly what you mean! Some months, I just can’t stop writing, and some months, even though I have ideas, I just can’t seem to formulate any of them. These weeks, I just can’t wait to wake up and draw everyday!

  4. You could totally do more sketches for the blog! In fact, you can even make a book out of this talent. If you think your drawing is bad, try this blog: http://www.iamboey.com , I’m sure you would feel your sketches look nicer. He is the author of 3 bestseller books with fans from all over the world, and his books are all comics of the same format as his blog. So, if he can do it, so can you! ;)

    Anyway, happy birthday to you!

    • I guess he proves that anyone can be a famous artist! I don’t think my sketches are bad, but I definitely need to figure out a way to take better pics of them! I want to make this more of a regular habit now. :)

  5. Is there no end to your talents and creativity? Wow! I’ve also been going through a bit of a slump lately (the first 500 words of my currently half-written article flowed really quickly, and then stopped just as quickly!) but I don’t have the advantage of being able to turn to drawing (my art teacher from school would probably despair if she thought I may be considering it!) The only other blogger I know who combines travel writing with sketches is Candice Rose Rardon (i think that’s spelt right!) so you could well have found a bit of a niche there :-)

    • Ooh I checked her out and her travel sketches are amazing!! Now that I’ve finally discovered my talent (ha!), I want to do this regularly and improve!
      I hope you get out of the writing slump soon… I know how much it sucks as a blogger!

  6. 29 was a great year for me – happy birthday! was so nice to meet up and I love your sketches – looks just like our hike :) you should definitely do some sketches of Juifen after we go!

  8. Nope, this is a super cool way of “blogging” and I dig it! Your sketchbook will be an awesome momento of your travels. Oh, I so feel you on not wanting to even break out the WordPress. If my wifi will even allow for it, I’m usually passing out or dying to watch Netflix instead.

    • Oh I know what you mean, I watch so much Netflix too, haha! Good thing I can watch it while sketching on paper ;). But I’ve actually been pretty impressed by how well you’re keeping up with writing about your travels!

  10. Wow Anna, this is great! I think it is good to experiment new kinds of post, specially if you enjoy them and allow you to explore your creative side! it is also very visual and easy to read, and it transmits more emotions that traditional posts (text + photos). My veredict: love it! And by the way… happy birthday! :)

  11. Love your sketches!!!! Other than the horrible haircut sounds like everything is going well. I wouldn’t worry about being too random on here, variety is the spice of life :).

    • Thanks Courtney! I was a bit worried about always changing the direction of the blog, but you’re right… nothing bad about variety :). And as the the haircut… it’s okay, hair always grows back, hehe.

  12. Oh wow, I am in love with these!! I think it is such an amazing way to document your days :) As I totally agree, if you have nothing to write then don’t force it! I follow another blogger who makes similar sketches from her travels, and I love them so much.

  13. Please do this all the time. I loved this. Also we are twins because recently, I’ve been obsessed with pinning all these illustrative journals. Check them out on there! Or put yours on there! They’re all amazing :) Currently working on my own. How long have you been doing this?!

    • Ohhh that’s so cool!! I can’t wait to see yours!!!! This was literally my first one. But now I want to do this for all the places I’ve been and never bothered to blog about, hehe. I can’t wait to have a notebook of sketches. Yeah! I pinned a bunch of illustrative travel journals as well, and I was so inspired!

      • Haha the ones with WATERCOLOR though. I have so many questions about it! Like are they always carrying around a watercolor palette?? How do they nail such a good drawing on the first try?!

        • I know I need to sketch it lightly in pencil first, and then ink over it. But seriously… I wonder too about the watercolor palette! I have discovered digital coloring on Photoshop though, and you can get a watercolor effect!

  14. I LOVED this! I could read these posts all the time! Not that I don’t love your writing, but it’s so refreshing seeing something like this.

    Happy Belated Birthday too!!

    I’m off to feel sad about my lack of skills in the creative department haha!

    • Oh please! You’re insanely funny and have the cutest taste in clothes!

      And I’m so glad you like this because I’m sure this will be a regular feature! I’m in a serious drawing obsession right now and it’s all I want to do!

  16. I really enjoyed this. You are a great illustrator, and this really sets you apart. It looks like Taipei is so interesting. I haven’t had Xiaolong bao in so long and am eagerly awaiting the opening of a Shanghai-style restaurant in town that claims to make them.

    • Ahh thanks so much Michele!! I’ll cross my fingers for you that the restaurant will be good! I’d miss xiaolongbao so much if I can’t have it for so many months!

  17. This is such a neat post! I like seeing your writing and pictures… it’s super artistic and different than other blog posts! :D That’s a bummer about the bangs… hair always seems to grow slowly when you want it to grow faster! :) Hope you’re still enjoying your time in Taipei!

    • Thanks Mere! I will definitely do more art journals in the future :). I know… it’s been a month already and my bangs still look horrible! But it’s okay, the good thing about a bad haircut is that it grows!

  18. I just read your Christmas list post and had to back track through all your new artsy posts to admire them. LOVE!