Let’s Make VICTORIAN LOVE LETTERS!

Plus a peek in my sketchbook & what I've been up to 👀

Mar 23, 2025

THURSDAY, MARCH 27 @ 7:00PM ET on YouTube

This week is going to be a little different - we’re making Victorian Love Letters! Sometimes also called Puzzle Purses. We’ll start by folding our papers into secret envelopes and then have fun decorating them!

I’ll be sharing some examples that I’ve found online, but I won’t be showing references on screen like usual, so it would be helpful if you had a think beforehand of how you might like to decorate yours. Here’s a Pinterest board I put together of inspiration!

And here’s a handy reference link if you want to get some folding-practice in (my plan is to be an expert by the time Thursday rolls around to help!)

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It would be really helpful if you click the thumbnail above and hit the “notify” button - it let’s YouTube know that people are excited about the upcoming livestream and they are more likely to share it to others.

Feel free to share this post on substack or elsewhere! Invite your art friends to join us!

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Next ART HANG PARTY! will be Thursday, April 3 at 7pm et on YouTube

Theme: UP CLOSE with Marcy of Sketchbook Scheming!

Do you have an idea for a future ART HANG PARTY! theme?

Leave a comment

Follow and DM your doodles to @arthangparty on Instagram to be shared on stream! Tag @arthangparty to be featured in our stories!

Join the ART HANG PARTY! discord! https://discord.gg/XztzrCkQT5 🤗💖✨ A place to share your AHP drawings, theme ideas, inspirations, artworks, and for us to get to know each other better! 🥰

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SUNDAY MARCH 16

A bit of catch-up from Sunday!

Charlotte Hamilton

was celebrating 5-years of her amazing creative community, one of which I’m very honoured to be included in.

Char gathered references from past drawing sessions and it was really lovely hearing everyone reminisce about how they first found Char and their time together.

I started the session with a sneaky drawing of Char as everyone was talking. She’s so fun to draw!

I thought I had the bright idea to make a zine of the session, so I grabbed a big 16x24-inch sheet of drawing paper and folded it up then cut it, hoping it would turn into a neat little booklet, but it wasn’t working so I ended up just cutting strips and taping the ends together when all was said and one.

To keep things playful I used Neocolor II, which I feel like I haven’t used in a long time. It was fun!

MONDAY MARCH 17

I really wanted to join

Beth Spencer

’s

Introvert Drawing Club

session at lunchtime today but my to-do list just wasn’t playing nice, so I pulled up the replay after dinner and had another play with the Sumi ink and fluorescent pink solid marker on a strip of drawing paper.

Special shoutout to Balzak who might just be the goofiest thing I’ve drawn in a long time!

Since I had so much ink left in my palette (I need to learn to be more sparing when using Sumi ink… a little goes for miles and miles!) I grabbed some cut pieces of paper and just had a play.

Today’s self portrait

TUESDAY MARCH 18

I painted along with

Charlotte Hamilton

this morning on her YouTube live. This is Lila Downs, a singer from Oaxaca. It’s really fun splitting my ipad in two, having YouTube on one side and procreate on the other, and using Char’s reference on her desk as mine. It means I can’t see all the details so I’m forced to keep things super-loose.

I added Ray and his DJ buddy Akio to my Japan sketchbook and somehow made them look equally like themselves and, not.

Then I joined

Deb Turcio Debbie Draws Funny

for her Weirdo Drawing Club patreon zoom session where we drew the silliest of silly underwater sea creatures. Very many giggles!

I used the cheepo dollar store paint sticks so it was impossible to get bogged down in the details.

Today’s self portrait

WEDNESDAY MARCH 19

Last time we were in Japan in 2023 we had sushi at this nice restaurant and I kinda fell in love with the mug they served the tea in. It felt so nice in my hand and had illustrations of old men on it (just translated it, they are previous Prime Ministers). After that meal I kept an eye out to see if I could find it in shops, but no luck. I did end up finding a set of four on eBay but never pulled the trigger.

Fast-forward to the last day of our trip when we were walking around Loft, a very nice department store, and there, sitting on the bottom shelf of a display was a very similar mug, but with sushi on it!

Today I decided to draw it out in my travel sketchbook with the Zig calligraphy pen, using vermillion, gamboge nova and just a touch of shell pink watercolours to add the colour, which worked perfectly.

This might be my favourite spread of them all!

Today’s self portrait

THURSDAY MARCH 20

Today we celebrated spring at ART HANG PARTY!

We’ve had glimpses of spring here in Toronto, but we’re still waiting for warmer weather to settle in and the trees to start budding. So it was nice to be reminded of what’s to come. 🌱

I set the timing up classic AHP style, meaning we started with two minutes on the timer

then 5 minutes

7 minutes

and ended with 10 minutes.

The progressively longer timer feels really nice, and I think it allows you to see more and more in the references as we go. Or in my case, allows you to get a few minutes in before your cat comes and sits on you sketchbook. Either way, it’s nice!

Catch the replay here!

Today’s self portrait

FRIDAY MARCH 21

Another page in my Japan sketchbook capturing us and our travel buddies Roger and Eric (aka DJ Strobe of AHP-music fame!)

I love how I perfectly captured the double-chin-enduring look the person taking the selfie. So flattering!

Today’s self portrait

SATURDAY MARCH 22

This afternoon I joined

Charlotte Hamilton

for her All the Cars in Mexico zoom session.

We had 5 minutes for the first three references and then 10 for the rest. I had fun with my Neocolors again, focusing on big blocks of colour while chatting away with everyone.

Today’s self portrait

SUNDAY MARCH 23

As I was finishing my breakfast I decided to doodle on my first successful test-fold of a Victorian Love Letter in preparation for AHP. It was so much fun to play with repeating patterns, seeing what could continue and morph into something new as the letter unfolds. It’s going to be a fun session!

Today’s self portrait

I actually recorded a video before AHP on Thursday of me filling a stay-wet gouache palette but I haven’t edited it yet (and maybe never will), so perhaps have a peek through my library and see what strikes your fancy!

youtube.com/@melissamartinart

🤗💖✨

I have had a few people over time talk to me about setting up a patreon or paid tier here on substack, but I made the decision when I started ART HANG PARTY! that I will keep all my content free and accessible to everyone, and provide a way for people show their support if they feel so inclined.

I have a Ko-Fi page set up to allow people to give tips, and you can also set up recurring monthly support at an amount you choose.

I also have some original artwork and prints for sale there, and just added some fresh AHP stickers!

I’ve also had people send me generous art gifts in the mail, gift me subscriptions to their memberships, and support me by showing up week after week after week for literal years!

I’m not writing all this to try to convince you of anything. Honestly your support in reading this newsletter, watching my videos, and coming to ART HANG PARTY! means that my ultimate goal finding an art community is already successful. But as someone who loves supporting art friends when and where possible, I understand that sometimes we want to give, and Ko-Fi is where you can do that 🤗💖✨

Don’t forget to enter my Japan Stationery Giveaway!

Enter at arthangparty.ca to win 1 of 5 envelopes filled with fun things I picked up in Japan! Giveaway closes March 31, 2025 and winners will be selected shortly thereafter.

Ok, that’s it for me! Thanks so much for being here!

See you Thursday at ART HANG PARTY!