January Art Notes

Drawing is thinking.

Every drawing is a learning experience.

Just work and your ‘style’ will emerge.

There are no shortcuts to a good drawing. Making one involves work.

A bit of perseverance is better than talent.

If I draw every day, I will get where I want to go.

Wonky is good. And also, finished is better than perfection.

Just chatting with another person who has the same interests and passions as yourself can give you a boost.

Copying somebody else’s work as an exercise is a way to grow. Give the original artist (or photographer) a credit.

You can learn something from anyone’s drawing.

Redraw your old work to see how much you improved.

Sketch as big as possible, especially when doing portraits. Small sketches amplify mistakes.

Every line you draw in a person’s face makes them older.

Hands can be as expressive as a face.

Begin any life drawing with a blind contour. It helps switch off the voices (inner critics). Plus, it lets you really look at your subject.

‘Slow seeing’ helps one to sketch fast. Concentrate on SEEING and do not let the brain get in the way.

Then start again and build the drawing from exaggerated, expressive gestures and add volume.

Draw 100s of fast and furious portraits, from the television or movies in order to become comfortable with drawing faces and people.

You never really get to know a subject until you’ve drawn it about 100 times.

You can quickly build confidence through practice.

Collage is the best way to cover all of your mistakes.

When you are on location, draw contours and outlines. Finish the drawings with details and color at home.

Consider leaving the second page of each sketch book blank to add and illustrate an important quote.

Develop the ability to draw evenly converging lines. This is one of the most important drawing skills to have — as well as being able to review what is on the page and see if it is consistent.

If you are feeling blocked creatively, draw daily using short timed prompts.

Try sketching while standing up.

Sometimes in order to continue improving in one area of art, you need to explore other areas.