A quiet practice with Artist Luis Mendo

When Luis Mendo moved from Amsterdam to Japan, he also shifted from two decades of magazine design into a new life of drawing. The change wasn't sudden. It was a slow, steady exploration until his warm, "digital analog" style emerged, along with a way of catching the warmth and charm in ordinary moments most people would pass by.

His piece Peace drops us into one of those moments: a studio mid-flow, light drifting in, papers wherever they land, a cup of coffee letting off a little steam. It's a space filled with the kind of focus that feels like its own small shelter, where your hands take over and the rest of the world steps back.

Featured in Volume 02: Steady Hands, Luis's work embodies what it means to build skill through patient repetition. His drawings feel effortless, but that ease comes from doing something carefully again and again until it becomes second nature. As we begin a new year, his reminder to get absorbed in something familiar and take it at your own pace is one we'll gladly return to when the chaos inevitably comes calling.

We asked Luis a few questions about his process and perspective. His answers, much like his drawings, reveal the beauty in showing up every day and trusting your hands to do the work.

Many of your drawings focus on everyday scenes and objects. What tends to catch your attention first: the setting, the people, or a feeling you want to hold onto?

I work very intuitively and rarely plan. I guess the feeling is the first thing I concentrate on, and then let my pencil wander to recreate or express the feeling. I know it's not a scientific answer, but it's true that I am not a very scientific person. I much prefer to let myself go with the flow and let things appear on the page by magic.

This Volume we featured you in is about steady hands, the kind of skill that comes from doing something carefully again and again. Where do you feel that steadiness most clearly in your own practice?

I draw and redraw every detail several times. Wax on, wax off. It's practice that makes you better. There are no shortcuts. In Spanish we have this saying I love: "dress slowly when you are on a hurry." Hurrying things only makes them worse.

How much of your process feels deliberate, and how much feels instinctive at this point?

All my work is instinctive. This is why I keep changing styles from one drawing to the next. It horrifies me that I'd use the same technique for the cover of a romantic book as for an economy commentary article illustration.

Is there something small you like to have around when you're working? Not because it's useful, but because it helps you settle in.

Of course my workspace is filled with books, pencils and paper everywhere; frames with mostly drawings (not mine!) from shoulder to ceiling and old school stationery I occasionally use like staplers, scissors and wooden stamps.

A few sips

(Our not-so-lightning round — just a few small questions to savor.)

What does a really good morning look like for you?

When I have slept well. I usually get up early but also go to bed early. I have a good breakfast with yogurt and good strong espresso coffee and get to work. Mostly on my emails so they are out of the way. I often draw for stories for my members on MundoMendo.com in the morning, reserving the rest of the day for client work.

What's something that never fails to bring you joy? (Big or small, serious or silly.)

Reading old books from the 50s and 60s. Also comic books from the 1980s bring me joy. Looking at times when things were not as broken.

Explore Luis's work at luismendo.com or follow him @luismendo