Daddy Cross, my friend and coworker with the best nickname in the world, is usually a very bold woman. The kind of power house I imagine Julia Louis-Dreyfus to be. Speaks truth to power in a voice that can do all sorts of things. Best physical comedy I’ve ever seen in a person. But I shouldn’t be surprised, because she’s a total theater kid. Last week, as I hobbled my way past her desk, she asked, in a squeaky voice: “Are you busy, like, in general?”

I’m never busy. I learned early on in University that answering the question “How are you?” with “Oh my, I’m so busy” was both boring and unproductive. I always reserve space for emergency design work, on-the-fly meetings, and time-sensitive requests. But Daddy Cross’ question wasn’t about work.

I’ve finally fallen in love with drawing on my iPad. During my stay at the hospital, I had so little to do that I eventually began doodling, exploring brushes, and mixing methods.

I’m surprised by how easy it is to learn how colors work, at least on a digital canvas. Below is an overview of four images of fjords I made. It’s easier for me to get the colors right when I’m working with a photograph, I’ve found.

Our friends gave birth to their first child, Eleanor! She was born on a trip east, and had to spend some time at the hospital. They sent us a wonderful photograph of her reaching out from her hospital crib. I simply had to commemorate.

As part of the Rijksstudio Award 2017 I created a map of Amsterdam. Using high-resolution photographs of 252 individual paintings available in the Rijksmuseum online catalogue, I recreated Amsterdam’s many waters using pieces of sky.