The Sunday Digest 079
"When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest."
Welcome to The Sunday Digest — a free Sunday newsletter featuring long (and some short) reads, original columns, things I’ve saved over the last week, relaxing playlists, episodes releases, exclusive product drops, and more. Yes, you can reply to this email. I’d love to hear from you. Or, if podcasts are more your speed on Sundays, we’ve got that too.
Sunday Read: The Art of Babar
by Penelope Green for The New York Times
I don’t know when I began drawing at a young age, but I do know that I was always one of the better illustrators in my class. I think we all have a tangible skill that we probably don’t remember learning, but it’s something that we’ve always known we can hang our hat on in a time of need.
My favorite things to draw were pretty straightforward: Calvin and Hobbes recreations, sketches of characters from The Lion King, and — of course — there was some Babar mixed in. I actually enjoyed drawing things from Babar because it was, well simple. Which is also why it feels so soothing to look at in the first place.
Here’s an excerpt from today’s read (or I guess view?) of the week:
Like his father, Jean, Laurent de Brunhoff trained to be a painter. He studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Montparnasse and began making and exhibiting abstract work in oils. But at 21, nine years after his father's death, he decided to carry on the adventures of Babar, his father’s creation, and from then on considered the Babar books his principal artwork.
Mr. de Brunhoff was a master of color and line. When he conceived his stories, he began with an image. If Babar were abducted by aliens, or practiced yoga, what might that look like? He sketched first in pencil, then watercolors, creating dozens of pictures before settling on a final illustration. Each composition advances the story but can also stand alone as a carefully composed painting.
Read in full here.
The Sunday Haiku: It won’t look weird if both nightstands have condensation rings all over them.
Another ring on
the table in the bedroom,
we can give up now.
New Episode › Retail Therapy 070: Basics, Michelin Stars, and Large Format Martinis
Will has pre-cop anxiety ahead of the JJJJound Sambas, eating at Michelin Star restaurants in space, a breakdown of each of our wardrobe basics, cropped men's tees, large format martinis at NYC hotel bars, Chalamet as Bob Dylan, wishlist items, and more.
Listen to Retail Therapy on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube (see above), and anywhere else podcasts are found.
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