Observational Drawings
Lesson 6
Gesture Drawings and Observation

In the following drawings we are going to work at getting loosened up. One problem many students encounter is that the more they concentrate, the harder the hold the pencil, the stiffer their arm becomes, and the tighter the drawings look.

We are going to loosen up our drawings by loosening up our arms. Before you sit down do some simple arm stretches and take some deep breaths. Sit down at a comfortable table and begin by drawing these circle spirals across the page. …

Symbols of Drawing
Lesson 5

Negating and Identifying Powerful Symbols

Drawing #8 Find an image of anyone. Could be a famous person, could be a relative. Doesn’t matter who. But try to find an image that is at least is decently lit. You are going to stare at this image for three minutes. Trying to take in every little detail you can. Then, after three minutes is up I want you to put the photo away and draw the person from memory. You have 20 minutes. You may begin.

STOP! You must complete drawing …

Drawing Lines
Lesson 4

Line

Lines don’t exist in reality. Everywhere you look you can see various forms bouncing into other forms, but no lines. This is the first thing to understand about a line. It is completely a creation of the human mind. We understand lines and pictures because we know how to read them. When a line is drawn on a piece of paper it’s intention is to depict the three dimensional world on a two dimensional surface. You are the magician deciphering what you see in reality and transforming it …

Start Drawing
Lesson 3
Finding Your Baseline
Before we push forward into the lessons, we need to make a record of exactly where you are at now. This is your baseline. It can be a very daunting task but you are just going to have to jump in and start drawing!

Open your sketchbook and on the first page write the date and sign your name under it. As you sign your name, imagine that you are signing a contract with yourself to give your passions the attention that they deserve. People can …

Lesson 2

This is an optional fist assignment just because I don’t want someone’s access to the Internet to effect their ability to use this book . Those who can’t make a blog will instead keep a sketchbook that also includes writing, and inspiration.

Now for those of you who have regular access to the Internet, and own a digital camera or scanner, you will be creating a blog. Relax, it’s not as hard as you think. I’m a big proponent of blogging your work because I think it is an excellent …

Learning To See And Draw
Welcome to Wonderland

“`Curiouser and curiouser!’ cried Alice (she was so much surprised, that for the moment she quite forgot how to speak good English); `now I’m opening out like the largest telescope that ever was! Good-bye, feet!’ (for when she looked down at her feet, they seemed to be almost out of sight, they were getting so far off). “

Lewis Carrol, Alice in Wonderland
Introduction:
Learning to draw is a bizarre and wonderful process in the sense that in order to really learn to draw you have …

Painting On Masonite
Painting on masonite is a cheap and easy solution for many who can’t afford to buy expensive canvases. One of the best words of advice I ever got in Art School was to always have multiple surfaces ready for paint.  This way you don’t have to go through the boring stage of preparing the masonite with gesso first.   In this video I go through the best way to prime masonite with gesso. By using a simple criss crossing technique you can create a surface which will accept …