I love this! I am currently unable to even walk without a cane, but felt like I was running again via your wondrous prose and lovely drawings. Thank you for lightening my Friday morning and inspiring me.
Oh that makes me so incredibly happy! It's so lovely to have brought you some joy and also the feeling of running when you cannot. Sending love. And thank you for your lovely comment!
This is a beautiful piece, both pictures and words. Thank you for transporting me to the Scottish wilderness! Your career journey is also very inspiring to me as an academic who is keen on illustration 💙
Thanks so much Laura! So lucky to do all that running in beautiful Scotland :) And nice to meet a fellow academic who loves to draw! I often feel pleased to have had my academic years too. They add something to my drawing I think ♥️
Thanks for telling me you enjoyed it! I feel so honoured to get to make pictures and words and share them - it means a lot to know you like it! Thank you! ♥️
So thoughtful and beautifully written. Thank you for sharing with us. Gave me a lot to think about re: art, living in my body, living in the now, tech's place in my life. Beautiful sketches too, felt like I was there.
I agree with the wonderful Rebecca Solnit that 3 mph is the best way to roam the earth. I am a walker, not a runner. But I love to read about running for some weird reason. I recently really loved the novel Run With the Wind by Shion Miura about training for and running the famous Hanone Ekiden race in Japan. If you enjoy reading about running I recommend this book. Your art is lovely!
Oooh thank you for the book tip! I have not heard of that but it sounds like I might love it. I'll look it up! And many thanks for the lovely comment. Rebecca Solnit is right about most things... so you're probably on the right team there ;)
So, so much to love in this. Along with your ever evocative illustrations you’ve perfectly linked your running journey with the need so many of us have in us to resist incessant push of tech and the disturbing rise of AI being thrust at us whether we want it or not in gadgets that we are not required to use simply to access services that have had their offline existences limited or wiped out. Here’s to the slow, the messy, the creative flaws, the windy wilds and the very many good things that exist outside of the tech world.
I really needed to read this, Anna. Thank you. Thank you for the reminder to slow down, to unplug, to prioritize what's real.
And I wish I could have a stack of cards or a little book that includes all of these drawings and all of your other ones too! A Best of Anna, to look at different drawings when I need to gain inspiration. Because that's what you do for me: you inspire me. And recenter me. And help me reprioritize. Thank you thank you.
oh I'm so pleased it struck something with you Jenny! That means a lot... I write these things because I like to write them! And it really is so wonderful to know they mean something to you. Many many thanks!
I love how well your words weave into your beautiful paintings. I used to run and it reminds me of how you go to a different place in your head. It makes me wonder if that place is the same place we go to when we're deeply in the flow of painting.
Hi Cathy and thank you! You’re so right about the flow state thing being similar… I def feel different running then drawing, and thing my brain is doing different things, but both give me that same in the moment escape that is so wonderful!
Your art and writing makes me so happy inside. I am incredibly moved by your paintings. I am inspired to run, make art, play music and live in the moment. I have been recovering from an injury, I feel like your paintings really reflect how I feel on this journey. I would like to buy some of them when you open up your shop again. ❤️
Hi Helen! So honoured and delighted to hear my work makes you happy! Thank you! Best of luck with your recovery… so hard to be out of action. And I’ll definitely include some running pics in the next shop opening. Thanks so much!
Incredible!!! Thank you so much for sharing this. I am also a (very amateur) runner and illustrator, and I signed up for my very first 30k trail race this summer! I’m super nervous but excited. I found this piece so relatable and beautifully written. 💛
Ahh so lovely to know more runners and illustrators! It's a good combination I think :) Thank you for the lovely comment - I'm so pleased it's relatable. And congrats on your race! Sending all the luck for a super joyous run! :)
I love this! I am currently unable to even walk without a cane, but felt like I was running again via your wondrous prose and lovely drawings. Thank you for lightening my Friday morning and inspiring me.
Oh that makes me so incredibly happy! It's so lovely to have brought you some joy and also the feeling of running when you cannot. Sending love. And thank you for your lovely comment!
This is a beautiful piece, both pictures and words. Thank you for transporting me to the Scottish wilderness! Your career journey is also very inspiring to me as an academic who is keen on illustration 💙
Thanks so much Laura! So lucky to do all that running in beautiful Scotland :) And nice to meet a fellow academic who loves to draw! I often feel pleased to have had my academic years too. They add something to my drawing I think ♥️
A beautiful piece of writing and art. I have been transported from Australia to your graceful landscapes.Thankyou.Also v inspiring.Loved it.
Thanks so much Margaret! I'm so delighted to transport you :) Thanks for reading and the lovely comment ♥️
Oh my, you have incredible art and writing talent. This was an enjoyable read and visual. Thank you so much for sharing and doing it for free!
Thanks for telling me you enjoyed it! I feel so honoured to get to make pictures and words and share them - it means a lot to know you like it! Thank you! ♥️
What an achievement! I loved reading about it. Huge congratulations Anna
Thanks so much Charlotte! It's so boring in a way... but I am also so ridiculously proud of my little body! :)
:-) so inspiring
Anna, this was an absolute delight to read. Thank you!
Thank you so much for reading! And also for sharing! Such a joy to know you enjoyed it :)
Beautiful! Loved reading this and your lovely paintings! Thanks for sharing
Thank you for reading! And for the lovely comment :)
So thoughtful and beautifully written. Thank you for sharing with us. Gave me a lot to think about re: art, living in my body, living in the now, tech's place in my life. Beautiful sketches too, felt like I was there.
Thanks so much Pat! Super nice to know it was thought provoking. I really enjoyed writing it so it's lovely to know you enjoyed the read! Thank you!
I agree with the wonderful Rebecca Solnit that 3 mph is the best way to roam the earth. I am a walker, not a runner. But I love to read about running for some weird reason. I recently really loved the novel Run With the Wind by Shion Miura about training for and running the famous Hanone Ekiden race in Japan. If you enjoy reading about running I recommend this book. Your art is lovely!
Oooh thank you for the book tip! I have not heard of that but it sounds like I might love it. I'll look it up! And many thanks for the lovely comment. Rebecca Solnit is right about most things... so you're probably on the right team there ;)
So, so much to love in this. Along with your ever evocative illustrations you’ve perfectly linked your running journey with the need so many of us have in us to resist incessant push of tech and the disturbing rise of AI being thrust at us whether we want it or not in gadgets that we are not required to use simply to access services that have had their offline existences limited or wiped out. Here’s to the slow, the messy, the creative flaws, the windy wilds and the very many good things that exist outside of the tech world.
Thank you Cally! And I'm so pleased it resonated. So much beauty and wonder in the world, it can be easy to forget it! Thanks for reading! ♥️
Wow! How amazing 🥰
It was so amazing! I still feel so proud of my little body that it managed it. And such a treasure of a time spent in such beautiful places :)
I really needed to read this, Anna. Thank you. Thank you for the reminder to slow down, to unplug, to prioritize what's real.
And I wish I could have a stack of cards or a little book that includes all of these drawings and all of your other ones too! A Best of Anna, to look at different drawings when I need to gain inspiration. Because that's what you do for me: you inspire me. And recenter me. And help me reprioritize. Thank you thank you.
oh I'm so pleased it struck something with you Jenny! That means a lot... I write these things because I like to write them! And it really is so wonderful to know they mean something to you. Many many thanks!
I love how well your words weave into your beautiful paintings. I used to run and it reminds me of how you go to a different place in your head. It makes me wonder if that place is the same place we go to when we're deeply in the flow of painting.
Hi Cathy and thank you! You’re so right about the flow state thing being similar… I def feel different running then drawing, and thing my brain is doing different things, but both give me that same in the moment escape that is so wonderful!
Your art and writing makes me so happy inside. I am incredibly moved by your paintings. I am inspired to run, make art, play music and live in the moment. I have been recovering from an injury, I feel like your paintings really reflect how I feel on this journey. I would like to buy some of them when you open up your shop again. ❤️
Hi Helen! So honoured and delighted to hear my work makes you happy! Thank you! Best of luck with your recovery… so hard to be out of action. And I’ll definitely include some running pics in the next shop opening. Thanks so much!
Congratulations, Anna! What an achievement!
Thanks so much Chantal! I still can't really believe I was able to do it :) x
Incredible!!! Thank you so much for sharing this. I am also a (very amateur) runner and illustrator, and I signed up for my very first 30k trail race this summer! I’m super nervous but excited. I found this piece so relatable and beautifully written. 💛
Ahh so lovely to know more runners and illustrators! It's a good combination I think :) Thank you for the lovely comment - I'm so pleased it's relatable. And congrats on your race! Sending all the luck for a super joyous run! :)