Blog / 2020 / Understanding the Artist Behind the Work You Love

At the moment, I’m doing a whole blog series teaching artists to love their art, so I thought it might be nice to talk about how non-artists can love art better too!

The painting featured in the video already has a forever home—it was one of the paintings that was pre-purchased via the Kickstarter I did for the ABC book project. That said, if you want prints or other pretty items with this image, check out my Redbubble shop! The full book will be available later this year.

The first names embedded in this image are Gabby, Gabriel, Gaëtan, Gala, Gary, Gayle, Geneviève, George, Ghazal, Gigi, Ginger, Ginnie, Gladstar, Glenn, Glynnis, Gopinaath, Gosia, Grace, Gramma, Granmo, Greta, Gretchen, Greyson, Guillaume, Guy, and Gwen.

Here’s what I’ve been reading since my last alphabet book update:

• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

  Rereading this bit of kid lit was strange. I both remembered it and didn’t, and that’s why it was so weird to think about how formative it was to who I have become in terms of the joy I find in nature. All that said, the positive thinking stuff in the book borders on the Law of Attraction at times, and, since I am not okay with that victim-blaming ideology, I was a bit creeped out.

• Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips

  I’m not sure why I started reading this book since it’s about a crime and that’s not really my thing, but I am glad I did. I love the way the story is told in little vignettes, and the setting of an isolated Russian Pacific shore community was fascinating.

• A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

  This novel is a sweet exploration artificial intelligence and the purpose of sentience more generally. Though A Closed and Common Orbit is technically the second in a series, it can easily be read on its own.

• Thick by Tressie McMillan Cottom

  This collection of thought-provoking personal essays won me over even though I am about as picky about essay collections as I am about short story ones.

• The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells

  This book brings all the nightmare scenarios of global warming together in one place and deconstructs why we are still not doing enough to shift our trajectory. It’s the most terrifying nonfiction book I have ever read, and I 100% think you should read it too.