Day 07: Tea in the Desert + A Quick Check-In on Boundaries

If you missed the first few days, I’m doing a 100-day sketchbook painting challenge and showing up here daily. This challenge has two parts: filling a sketchbook and writing here every day, and along the way I’m noticing the little habits that support the process.

“I said weekends were off… and here I am.”

Tea in the desert?

Imagine walking and walking up the steep dunes, the sand and the sun so hot you feel like you’re melting. It’s the kind of place where you don’t even want to go for a swim because the heat is too much. And then you finally reach the top and see the wide dunes all around — and there it is, to your surprise: a little table on the ground on top of a Persian carpet, a Moroccan tea kettle waiting for the guests… but the one thing you want more than anything is the shade.

This was in Tamri in Morocco, where the desert meets the ocean.

I sketched this scene over a year ago, and it’s been sitting in my sketchbook ever since. I always told myself I would paint it “properly” when I had a good, solid hour.

Though its cold and raining outside, today I finally gave it that time.

I took my time with it, and I think I went too realistic for me.

Maybe because the sketch was already there and I felt a bit of tension the whole time. I wasn’t sure about the colours either — I kept thinking about the desert tones and the rugs… and somehow ended up with something a bit too primary for my liking. It’s not my favourite, but seeing the page complete feels good. And I’m glad I had the original reference photo to remind me of how quiet and beautiful that moment was.

It’s so good to finally fill this page filled up.

I also realised today that I said I wouldn’t post on weekends…

And here I am anyways.

I spent part of my Sunday painting instead of being out in Zeeland with my partner. I didn’t mind choosing this a few hours ago, but as I started to paint, I did think: maybe I need weekends off. If I want this challenge to stay light, fun, and sustainable for 100 days — and not take over weekends like today — then I need to rethink what this 100-day challenge actually looks like for me.

So I’m thinking about putting up clear boundaries:

• whether weekends should stay part of this challenge or stay off-limits.

• and if I should I even paint on the weekends…

• do I take the weekend off?

I don’t know yet, but I’ll decide next weekend.

Today’s reminder:
Sometimes finishing a page matters more than the actual outcome. And I’m realising a few small boundaries might be what keep this 100-day thing sustainable and still leave space for posting on Substack to feel fun, not heavy.