“What Is Stopping You Drawing?”

I’ll repeat the question…

“What is stopping you drawing?”

Tell me…

“What is stopping you from drawing anything you want?”

Look at the introduction above…

• Do you want to draw people… To draw your son or daughter?
• Do you want to draw animals… a cat or dog, lion or wolf?
• Do you want to draw cool cars?
• Do you want to draw dragons with flames?
• Do you want to draw a garden of roses?
  

Let’s choose one example…

“So, you want to learn to draw a picture of your child… your young son or daughter”

Why don’t you just get a clean sheet of white drawing paper and a pencil and draw a portrait?

Surely it can’t be too hard… a few lines here and a little shading there… where's the problem?

But you know better.

Yes, it really is hard to make your drawing look like the child you’ve known and loved from the very day they were born.

The best you can manage with your drawing looks nothing like your baby.

Is this what is stopping you draw?

Does this mean that you are rubbish at drawing?
Does this mean that you are a bad artist, who will never draw anything?

Listen! Its okay!

Let me tell you a secret… many of the biggest names in art couldn’t draw a decent portrait of beloved child. So why would you be disheartened?

There is nothing to be ashamed of.

Portrait drawing and painting have been considered the highest levels of art that only the best will ever succeed.

The reason why most people can’t draw is that they give up too easily. They give up trying too soon.

The reason they give up can be that they are too ambitious. They attempt subjects that are too difficult.

Portraits and figure drawing is hard to do because of all those curves. It is hard to get a likeness. It is hard to get character. It is hard to capture real life with a drawing.

Technical studies are another difficult subject field. How many people do you know who can draw a car? Who do you know can draw a sailing ship complete with all the rigging?

I used to specialize in painting and drawing steam trains. There aren’t too many people who can do it well. There aren’t too many who care to try. I know that I can do a fair job of trains and cars but I wouldn’t know where to start with sailing ships.

As dumb as you like, I started my art career with a difficult subject. Fortunately, you are far cleverer than that. You are going to start with easy stuff.

You know that you want to have some fun. So, you will begin with simple drawing and build your drawing skills.

You know the benefits of being comfortable with what you know. And you understand that you know the skills and expertise you gain and are comfortable with makes it easy for you to draw well.

Of course, it is up to you. It is your choice whether you make it hard or easy. You are welcome to make a fool of yourself, as I did.

You are welcome to try drawing family portraits that make your husband look like a well known farmyard animal. You might draw a smile when you recognize that the drawing of your wife looks remarkably like a hippo.

Seriously, this isn’t what you want. Start simple and easy and you will get it right.

And the first step is to draw a straight line. It is not as easy as you think. Here’s a challenge for you before the next posting…

“Make a list of as many different ways you can draw a straight line”

See you soon

Michael

“Draw With Imagination”

The danger with my last blog “Learn To Draw Like A Child” was that you were going feel insulted. This was not the intention…


Why would any grown adult want to draw like a child?


Of course, it is ridiculous to think anyone could learn from a child’s drawing… Is that so?


You can’t learn from looking at a child’s painting.


Isn’t that foolishness? Are you sure?


If your answer is ‘Yes’ … then there is no way this posting can help you.


If the answer is ‘No’, you’ll be asking me if I found any important lessons from children’s drawing and painting…


“Yes, I have learned plenty from children’s artwork”


I remember when my son brought his first paintings home from school. They were like most infants pictures. They showed big ideas, painted with fantastic simplicity and speed. Naturally, they were short on technical drawing and painting skill but long on story and meaning.


What I found fascinating was that the full meanings of the pictures were lost to me. As a parent, I found that my first impressions were usually wrong. Daddy wasn’t necessarily the largest figure drawn. It could be mother or grandmother, father or grandfather.


The likelihood is that you cannot read a child’s picture without asking the child who painted it…


Always, you will be surprised by the story that is contained. Even the simplest of drawings will be described with great excitement…

• It could be a day at school


• It could be about a birthday party


• It could be a holiday

Children’s artwork is incredible and always worthwhile. They are bright, lively and colorful.



Even the most basic pictures have clean drawn lines.


What is most fascinating is the directness of line and brush stroke that allows a child to produce their striking drawings. They may be basic but cannot be bettered by any adult… here’s where even Picasso failed (if he really was trying to paint like a child)


Also, children often use enviable technique in their artwork. Children don’t understand how they get the effect but they instinctively use pencil, crayon and paint.


Indeed, I remember some of the first pictures my son painted before he went to school. He would have been around 4 years old, using cheap paints and brushes. Yet, with just a single brushstroke, there was huge ENERGY. It didn’t matter what the pictures were supposed to represent. With that brush mark, he had combined 2 or even 3 colors that kept their individuality (difficult with a single brushstroke). At the same time, the colors combined to give secondary colors that take an artist years to discover.


I found that my son could equally surprise when he used pencils to draw. It was the same with felt tip pens or crayons… amazing pictures were made.


No doubt your children are the same… showing remarkable imagination and drawing skills.


The key learning children can give is that they don’t worry about their drawing and painting skills…


You won’t see a young child worrying about whether or not they can draw or paint… They just get on with it.


That’s right! A child isn’t restricted in any way… there’s no doubting what they can do. Without the limitations of doubt, they can do anything they want…


“Just like you can!”


A professional artist’s advantage is in the knowledge of their skill… their confident technique. You maybe aren’t sure about your drawing skills. If that is so, remember…


“Technique is learned”


Your own skills and technique are learned. With practice, your skills and technique will improve.


It doesn’t matter how experienced you are. When you use your skills to the maximum, along with confidence gained from practice…


“You will draw with style”


Crucially, it’s your imagination makes the real difference… There’s no substitute for imagination. Imagination is what turns a drawing into a work of art. It is your imagination, combined with skill, that makes the difference between your drawing and a mechanical computer produced image.


“Draw with imagination”


Always remember, you had imagination as a child and you still have imagination now. Use your imagination in your drawing and they will come alive. Your drawings will have story and meaning. Your drawings will have value.


Combine drawing skills with your imagination and you will achieve artistic miracles.

See you soon

Michael