This past Tuesday began with a train ride to Zeeland, where I picked up my daughter from my parents. Due to delays, there was no time for a coffee — we had to head straight back to Rotterdam. I dropped her off at her mother’s, grabbed my gear from the studio, and rushed to the office, where Fabritsio had already been waiting for quite a while. I had just 30 minutes left to set everything up.

We made it. Even my cup of tea was waiting patiently. In the last five minutes before going live, I took a few deep breaths, trying to shake the stress from my body. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

“Hello Sentient Beings, good evening from the Netherlands” — that’s what I meant to say, but I stumbled over my words right at the start. Hopefully, you didn’t notice.

The first fifteen minutes felt heavy. It’s always tricky to start on a blank sheet, but with the rush still pulsing through my body, it felt even harder. The flower just didn’t take the shape I had in mind. Maybe the medium didn’t help either — an old, splintered office HB pencil on basic printer paper.

I had two options for the medium:

– Printer paper (80 gsm) with a standard HB pencil,

– Or professional 300 gsm handmade paper with dried flowers and leaves, and a set of 2B, 4B, and 7B pencils.

Choosing the HB pencil didn’t exactly make it easy for myself.

I felt stuck while drawing the flower. So I pulled the second word: Seven.
I decided to switch techniques, applying strong pressure to create a dark, bold contrast. That brought a sense of calm — and recognition. The texture reminded me of something I often use in Metamorfose. That felt good.

The third word: Block.
Finally, I could use my ruler! I’ve shown it in every episode so far but hadn’t used it yet. A block, to me, meant something geometric, drawn in soft three-point perspective. I created a window-like shape, a space where the rose and the number seven could pass through — a meeting between organic lines and the sharp geometry of structure.

But randomness is truly random: out of 38 words in the box, I pulled Block again. A fun surprise, and an interesting challenge. I decided to mirror the previous block, but this time I drew all the rib lines prominently, where before I had kept them subtle. I carefully measured the angles and mirrored each point, highlighting the contrast between the two.

And then the fourth word: Tail.
It took me right back to episode 1, where I also pulled that word. Back then, I drew a braided tail. To avoid repeating myself, I chose a different approach — the hindquarters of a horse emerging from the mirrored block. I gave the tail flowing, combed lines to soften the form.

Then came the finishing touches.
More shadow, and some added detail to the flower — though personally, I’m not very happy with how the flower turned out. But that’s the essence of live drawing: you make choices, and there’s no turning back. The magic lies in how the words are brought together and woven into image.

I hope you enjoyed these after thoughts, and that maybe you discovered new layers in the drawing that weren’t visible during the livestream.

Thank you for your time, your presence —

and see you at the next Live Lines:

🗓 Tuesday, May 14 at 20:00 (NL time)

✍️ Words drawn: Flower, Seven, Block, Block, Tail

Episodes:

📺 Episode #3: Watch on YouTube

📺 Episode #2: Watch on YouTube

📺 Episode #1: Watch on YouTube