Reading · Can't Stop Sketching

Happy New Year!!

As I write this, I’m living in a new state where I’ve moved for a new full time job as an Industrial Designer working in the food industry. We’re living in our new house, it’s 60°F outside and sunny - My wife is in the backyard feeding stray cats that have started visiting us. I have to remind her daily that we can’t bring any more cats into the house—we already have two. If I don’t remind her, we’ll suddenly have four. 😄 oh, she’s also feeding birds and squirrels that visits our back yard too and it’s starting to feel like a mini zoo!

On New Year’s Day, I have a tradition of kicking off the year by sketching my wife’s homemade Osechi—a traditional Japanese meal eaten during the first three days of the New Year. Each ingredient carries a symbolic meaning, representing wishes for good fortune, health, prosperity, and happiness. What I love most is how colorful and beautiful she makes it every year.

Here are photos from 2020–2025.

One of the great things about Osechi is that it’s served cold, which means I can take my time sketching. I usually do the line work first, then eat. Coloring comes later—after my stomach has settled.

In September of last year, we moved from Charlotte, North Carolina to Northwest Arkansas. I’ll be completely honest—before my job interview, I had no idea where Arkansas was on the U.S. map. Later, someone told me this area is often called a “flyover state.” And yes, I’ve probably flown over it for decades—but now I’ve finally landed here. It’s actually a really cool place, and I’m looking forward to sharing it through my sketches and stories in the coming years.

One challenge since moving here has been finding Asian grocery ingredients—especially for Osechi. This year, I didn’t expect to have homemade Osechi at all due to this, but I woke up on New Year’s morning to this surprise.

If you’re familiar with Osechi, you’ll notice how un-Osechi this version is, with many ingredients missing that she had to make up. Still, I was really happy. It felt like a perfect way to start the year—along with my ginger non-alcoholic spritz for something refreshing.

On December 31, I was looking through my “Best 9 Images of 2025” using this Site

It’s a pretty neat website that pulls what it considers your top nine Instagram posts of the year. I’m not sure how it decides—likes, views, comments?—but these images brought back great memories and marked some meaningful milestones.

Here are my Top 9 2025 posts:

(From top left to bottom right):

Menya Ramen poster – A promotional poster I did for what I believe is one of the best Japanese ramen shops in Charlotte.
Farewell to Charlotte – My goodbye post when we moved last September. Sad to leave after seven years, but was also excited (and nervous) for what was next.
Poland with sketching friends – A photo with five sketcher friends I met 15 years ago. We still sketch, and it’s a constant reminder of how sketching keeps people connected.
Burtons Grill invitation – An invitation card I designed, plus the bonus of sampling many of their dishes—including this amazing cake.
Super G mural – The largest artwork I’ve created to date. I really miss this supermarket.
Urban Sketchers Global – Starting my volunteer role as Vice President. A global nonprofit that got me sketching daily and continues to be deeply rewarding.
Cold-weather sketching – Sketching outdoors in Charlotte on a cold day, wearing gloves. I used to do this all the time in Boston—amazing how quickly you lose tolerance for cold after moving south to a warmer place.
Two Friends Book– A charming bookstore in Bentonville, Arkansas, and one of the first sketches I did after moving to Northwest Arkansas.
Poznań, Poland – My first sketch at the International Urban Sketchers Symposium 2025. I sketched outside a grocery store selling dried fish—and somehow never got to eat traditional Polish food during the trip. I’ll definitely need to return.

Looking back, 2025 was a huge year of growth and change.

I started the year as a full-time artist, excited to wake up everyday life to work on the Arts. I taught drawing at CPCC, took on tons of art and design commissions, have had 2 gallery exhibitions and started volunteering with Urban Sketchers Global. I woke up each day excited— with a to-do list a mile long of all the things I wanted to do, and went to sleep worried mostly about finances and the future.

One of the biggest boosts was receiving a Grant from the Knight Foundation to help me get started on launching an online course. It allowed me to purchase the necessary equipment and software, and I’m incredibly grateful. I researched everything—hardware, recording setups, editing software, and hosting platforms. There were endless options, many of them seamless but expensive, with monthly fees. Even with the grant, I had to be careful and bootstrap wherever I could. I ended up staying away from anything that required a monthly fee subscription, and opted for 1 time purchase software and platforms. It took a little bit of time to learn these tools but I’m glad I went with this route.

If people find this subject interesting, I may write a separate Substack post breaking down everything I used to get the online class up and running.

While I originally planned to launch the class in last summer I officially launched it on January 1, 2026.

Better late than never, right?

My online course information can be found on my website
www.daikubara.com

The core principles of the courses stems around the ideas covered in my two books: Sketch NOW think later & COLOR first ink later. I walk through and demonstrate the entire process—from start to finish—sharing lots of practical tips and tricks to help people get started, especially if you’re new to sketching.

I go into detail on the how, but just as important to me is the why. Why each step matters. Why a specific approach is taken. Why certain tools are used. The goal isn’t for everyone to sketch like me or use the same materials, but to understand the reasoning behind the choices. By knowing the “why,” you can discover your own unique approach and find what works best for you in bringing sketching into your daily life.

I truly believe that sketching can make us happier, and I hope to share that joy with as many people as I can.

I hope you can check it out!