Photo by Bonus Action
The weather is changing here in the PNW. Warm, forever-long days filled with sunshine are being replaced with cool rain, and there is a chill on the breeze at night that promises a shift in the color of the leaves that shade my townhouse. During the summer, I find it so easy to pick up a pen and sketch out something I want to start working on. However, as the days get shorter and the desire to curl up under blankets takes hold, I am much less inclined to go sit at a park to sketch. Thankfully, I have found the ultimate way to battle this early-autumn malaise. Pairing my Wacom MovinkPad Pro 14 with a snazzy, jazzy cup of hot coffee.
Since I started using the MovinkPad Pro, I’ve been spending way more time doing digital art. The portability of the drawing tablet and the lack of cables attached to it make this stand-alone drawing pad the perfect on-the-go studio. That said, you can have all the tools in the world and still get smacked upside the mind palace with artist block.
To help try and disturb this cycle of creative absence at the start of fall, I have been taking a new approach to motivation. I’ve been pairing my MovinkPad Pro 14 with a thermos full of coffee – and not just any old bean juice. I’ve been testing out the Heirloom Coffee Roasters blends, which offer a robust range of decadent options perfect for fueling your imagination.
Light Roast & A Portable Drawing Tablet
I am a very picky coffee drinker, but I am also broke. Because of this, I need my coffee to be quality for a price that doesn’t make my bank account wail in protest. I haven’t been a Starbucks/Coffee Shop kid in a long time, as the mixture of way too much sugar and way too much money has really made these sorts of locations irresponsible for my lifestyle and health. I’m 33, not 19. I left my invincible gut lining behind in college.
When I want to take my MovinkPad Pro 14 out on a walk to the park or over to the local library garden, I try to select a coffee that is whole-bean, medium-light in roast, and interesting in flavor profile. I typically buy whatever is on sale, and these past few weeks, it’s been Heirloom Coffee Roasters.
I have been stuck on the Sugar Phoenix Blend, which is a light-medium roast with buttery, jammy notes that are perfectly refreshing when mixed with a simple, non-dairy creamer. I have also been into the Colombia Planadas light-medium roast that, I kid you not, tastes like apples without the fake flavoring added. I paid about $13 for each bag, which is a steal when most coffee is getting close to $20 for a decent, ethically sourced option.
If the MovinkPad Pro 14 were a coffee blend, I feel like the Sugar Phoenix would be it – bright, exciting, and filled with so much depth an possibilty.
I typically grind my own coffee, brew up a standard old pot of drip, pour some into my thermos, and then I am ready to get to creating.
The Ritual of Coffee Gets You Ready To Create
Brewing a whole pot of coffee may seem like a weird thing to do before sitting down to draw. Why not just get to it? However, there is a method to my madness. As someone with diagnosed ADHD, I often struggle with that “getting started” energy that may come more naturally to others. I get especially bogged down or overwhelmed when life gets busy, making it harder to jumpstart my brain as kids go back to school and my partner heads back to the classroom to teach.
The routine of making coffee tells my brain that it is go time, and the caffeine from the cup helps me gather all the rattling, vibrating, kaleidoscope creativity that exists in my person into a productive force that can manifest on my tablet screen.
In addition to the coffee, the MovinkPad Pro 14 doesn’t require me to set up any sort of space. I currently do not have an office. My workspace is my dining room nook in our little 1300 sq ft townhouse. This can make getting started even more overwhelming.
Instead of setting up a space to paint or trying to hook up my larger drawing monitor, I can just grab my thermos, snag the MovinkPad Pro, and walk out the back door to go draw by the lake behind my house. It’s freeing, and it offers a bit of self-care and reflective quiet time that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to access.
The MovinkPad Pro is the key to this escape, and the coffee is the fuel to make all the things I want to draw manifest. It is the perfect combination.
If you are looking for a fun way to find a creative routine that allows you to step out of the house and focus on a project, trying combing the Wacom MovinkPad Pro 14 with some coffee. I love welcoming fall with these little rituals, and I hope you will too.
**Bonus Action purchased the Heirloom Coffee Roasters coffee mentioned in the above article. None was provided for the purpose of this feature. The Wacom MovinkPad Pro 14 used in this article is on loan from Wacom**
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