Thank you for reading another zen Monday. Every Monday is zen Monday. Always a weekly dose of Japanese ink painting coupled with one photograph from my archives. Sometimes a poem.

The holiday season issue of my digital letter covering all things art-related will be coming out soon. You can subscribe here: https://mafaldatenente.com/newsletter

I love the serendipity of how my pick of sketches every week is sometimes oh so topical in an unplanned way.

Today I am sharing a night view of the lake in downtown Agios Nikolaos. I started this sketch around sunset and with every glance up from my table the light shifted ever so slowly around the boats and the opposite shore. By the time the boats near me were sketched the background was pitch black, so I turned the view into a glowing night scene.

Light is an important element of art. It can change the mood of a scene completely. Just look at the sunrise photo (swipe) versus the late morning light against which I hold my postcard. Light is also how we feel the change of seasons around us, and an essential part of our well being. Tomorrow is the longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere, the turning moment for when light stops shying away from us and returns with ever more generous doses. Subjects look different in this winter light, even when they stay the same.

I will be trying to take some time in the day to join the #seasonsketchers challenge and enjoy what light we get tomorrow in Zurich. Maybe some of you will join us too, maybe you will just take a walk and enjoy the light.

How about you? How does light influence your day and habits? Wishing you a very bright week, solstice and a merry Christmas!