Until very recently, I had to have quiet when drawing. I realised this when James and I used to share the spare bedroom as our work space. James is a sales manager, so would have a headset on with music playing that only he could hear. Which he would then happily sing along to. This drove me potty. To the point I came close to lobbing a 500ml tub of acrylic paint at the back of his head. But paint is too expensive. My liking of peace and quiet was one of the driving factors behind wanting the studio in the garden, apart from wanting to actually be able to have people to stay in a room that wasn't full of art stuff.
So I was astonished that I could actually listen to Audible when I draw. I read a massive amount, and I never thought that listening to someone else read a book would make me happy. I mean, I'm not 3. Then, my friend Heidi put me onto the wonder that is Stephen Fry reading the Harry Potter books. I LOVE Harry Potter. Especially the books (way, way better than the films in my opinion). I even did a range of wooden Harry Potter coasters with the 4 Houses on. And, if you follow me on Instagram (@catrogers_art) and you've watched my stories, then yes, that is a HP dressing gown.
James doesn't understand how I can listen to the books more than once. It's easy. I just drift off into the world of Hogwarts, and hopefully, in my minds absence, my body has finished a drawing while I've been gone. However. It's not all Quidditch and quills. I've realised that not all audiobooks are created equally. I've found that the narrator can play a huge part in whether I can enjoy a book or not. I tend to prefer male narrators, although that might be as I work in a female prison and I hear enough female voices in work! I've attempted to listen to non-fiction before, including Dr Julie Smith's 'Why has no-one told me this before?' which I've heard great reviews about, but I just can't concentrate on drawing and taking it in. I've started it 3 times, and get to the end of a morning's drawing and realise I can't remember any of what has been said. And thats no disrespect to her, I just think it's something I need to concentrate on while I listen.
I think Stephen Fry has to be one of my favourite narrators. I also have some of his mythology books on Audible and I find him really easy to listen to.
Do you prefer to listen to music or people talking? Let me know in the comments below!
