Hi, I'm Simon. I'm a Canadian artist living in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The year 2020 has been a difficult year for many of us, especially because of the coronavirus. In order to stay positive, I decided to create a visual gratitude journal on my Instagram page. For a hundred days, I drew an experience that made me happy.
I posted my first illustration on March 1st, 2020. There are a lot of drawings of me and my partner traveling between Stockholm, Sweden where he currently lives, and Copenhagen, Denmark. From cooking together to eating a bowl of ramen and cozying up with a good book, this project helped me to stay grounded and mindful.
Throughout my art journey, my style evolved and so did my storytelling. I received a lot of positive messages and support for showcasing an interracial same-sex couple, enjoying simple and everyday moments.
More info: Instagram
#1 Day 7:
Happy #iwd2020. Today, I wanted to highlight an amazing and selfless woman: my mom. I live in Denmark and she’s in Canada so we like to message and video chat frequently. She recently sent me a very nice message that just made my heart melt. Thank you mom for your unconditional love.
39points
#2 Day 11:
In these days of social distancing, self-care is essential. Just taking the time to take a nice warm bath with my favorite bath bomb brings me so much joy.
30points
#3 Day 1:
Today celebrates my two years living in Copenhagen. I’ve always talked about going winter swimming but haven’t mustered the courage to jump in the freezing water. I went to Ribersborgs Kallbadhus in Malmö to take a dip in the cold sea. I’m so proud for giving it a try and for being able to dip my head under the water after the second trial.
28points
#4 Day 16:
Social distancing is difficult but necessary. I love it when @patricws cooks and is able to whip out a nice noodle bowl from leftovers in the fridge. It’s better than going for take-outs.
28points
#5 Day 23:
Since we’ve all been asked to work from home, I’ve been enjoying my morning meetings with my teammate. It’s nice to see that social distancing has made us less camera-shy. Of course, ☕️ is always a must. 🥐 optional.
27points
#6 Day 8:
Isn’t it great when random people are coincidentally color coordinated? As I rushed to the elevator going down to the metro, I noticed that the three other people were all wearing bright yellow pieces of clothing. If you live in Scandinavia, you’ll know that this is not common practice. Danes usually stick to more muted colors such as black, dark blue, and brown.
24points
#7 Day 19:
This unusual social distancing situation has made us realized that FaceTime dates are a real thing. We were so happy to catch-up and cheer with our good friend @lilowilliams from my beloved home country of Canada. Much love from Sweden.
21points
#8 Day 21:
Working from home also means that I have more time to take care of my plants. It’s good to shower them once in a while.
20points
#9 Day 32:
Yesterday I received a big package from work to be opened on Friday at 16:00 during our conference meeting. When I unwrapped it, the box was full of delicious goodies to celebrate our #fridaybar virtually. How thoughtful.
19points
#10 Day 34:
With spending most of our days at home, we are not in the mood for shopping. However, we made an essential purchase to survive our social distancing life: lazy pyjama pants. It’s a better alternative than to bum around in our underwear, and the neighbors are probably thanking us for being a little bit more decent.
17points
#11 Day 42:
Social distancing has been quite difficult for me, especially when we can’t hug. That’s why I couldn’t help myself to hold and kiss this gentle giant when I saw him last week.
16points
#12 Day 46:
Sometimes, we are all talked out. But I love having you next to me just being on our phones.
16points
#13 Day 14:
Getting a haircut right before the lockdown was announced. We might be isolated within our homes, it doesn’t mean that we don’t want to look good.
15points
#14 Day 20:
I recently bought an extra yoga mat to practice at home. It’s very important for me to exercise regularly to keep my body strong and my mind sharp, especially during these hard times of social distancing.
13points
#15 Day 25:
When you are impatiently waiting for the new episodes of The Circle to come out. Couples that wait for each other to binge-watch tv-series together, stay together.
13points
#16 Day 41:
I’ve been in Stockholm for almost a month and, honestly, I could not have hoped for a better partner to be confined with. It makes me really happy whenever we work on our different tasks to make the apartment feel more like home.
13points
#17 Day 12:
In light of the coronavirus situation, Denmark has recently called a ban for all travels, closing its border. I’m so thankful to be home and to be in my own bed. Stay safe and healthy everyone.
12points
#18 Day 49:
Sometimes just using the different filters on Instagram is enough for us to laugh and giggle.
12points
#19 Day 5:
With very short days in the winter, you can imagine how a bit of sunlight can bring immense joy. I was super happy to see the sun peeking out to get my quick fix of vitamin D.
11points
#20 Day 10:
They have a much better variety of Japanese and Korean food in Stockholm than in Copenhagen. On my last visit, I showed my boyfriend how to properly unwrap an onigiri. It’s easy as 1,2,3.
11points