Sometimes words are hard. So we turn to pictures instead.

That‘s ok, right?

One would think that after a year and a half of regularly writing this substack newsletter it would become easier. But actually it has become harder. Not because I have run out of things to write about, but because I find myself running out of words too often of late.

Sometimes words are hard and self expression comes much easier in the form of picture or song. Do you remember the first time you discovered a song that exactly expressed how you felt? A song that has all the words that you have been unable to string together? And sometimes it is not the words of a song that carries the emotion, but the sounds. The harmonies. The flow of the melody. The wringing tone of the voice that grabs your heart and squeezes. If you want to know the power of music just try watching a movie without it. There is so much of the “communication” that gets lost without it.

I saw an illustration by Charlotte Ager on pinterest the other day. (An app that I very rarely open, because all the moving adverts literally gives me motion sickness.) It is of a person standing alone on a balcony. The balcony is on the one side of the picture. On the other side, separated by a road, there is a bustling city filled with life. This picture gave me such a sense of loneliness, my heart going out to that lone person on the balcony. Just one glance and you can feel it. It would take too many words to be able communicate that sense of loneliness in the short amount of time that this picture manages to do. The most skilled poets might be able to do that, but most of us do not fall under that category. Which is one of the reasons why we need those skilled poets. And illustrators. And musicians. And dancers.

There is probably a reason why most of my “journalling” comes in the form of drawings and paintings, words only making an appearance every now and then. And that is ok. Sometimes the pictures do a better job of communicating than I would be able to do with words.

With that said, I leave you with some pictures from my sketchbook. Sneak peeks into my daily life - the part that really matters. The part where the real person lives. They might not seem so, but they are quite personal.

May you have a colour filled week,

Nino