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Do your days usually fill up fast?
Yes, my life is pretty hectic at the
moment. My family and I have just
moved into a fixer-upper built in the
1930s and the four of us are camping
out downstairs; we’re renovating the
bedrooms ourselves. I also work a
couple of days a week in a store that
sells art supplies, which is the
equivalent of a candy store for me. I
love being surrounded by paper,
brushes and easels. The chats I have
with customers are inspiring, but
sometimes it makes me anxious.How do you relax each day? I try
to make the time to draw every day, in
the evening once the kids are in bed
and on the weekend. This is how I
process what I experience; it’s an outlet
for me. I often make a few small
drawings with a lot of details of people
or animals, in watercolor or gouache;
great types of paint that are easy to
combine with other materials. When
I’m at my drawing desk, a weight just
falls from my shoulders, because I get
immersed in the drawing almost
immediately. The worrying stops; the
world is no larger than the drawing in
front of me. I like testing out new colors
and am trying to focus more on thedetails as well as the big picture. It’s
like time stands still: I could go on
drawing forever.What happens after that? I start
feeling more intense satisfaction and
happiness. My daily cares about work
and other things fade and I don’t dread
things as much; I see them in the right
proportions. I also get a better overview
of everything; I have a clearer picture of
what needs to be done and the best
place to start. Sometimes I get this
incredible drive to start renovating,
even though I’m not really the DIY type.
In my mind, I don’t have to think twice
about grabbing a hammer or paint
roller. We’ll get the renovation done, is
what I think.Hylkje Ehrenburg (39, sales assistant)
sets aside time every day to draw.