Today I want to talk about drawing. It's something I've done most of my life, something that I feel has evolved as I have grown as a person. However, for most of my life, I've been really private about sharing my drawings. Part of that is because of a fear of acceptance, but also self insecurity. I started an Instagram page to share only my art - things I make, draw, photograph, really whatever I am enjoying working through at the time. I don't have very many followers yet, but if you want to join along in my creating, you can follow me here:
But I digress - I'm not writing this post to promote my Instagram page, I'm writing it to share with you all something I'm passionate about and that I am going to bring more life to, with the help of my Patrons and everyone that follows me here. A disclaimer at the beginning of this post then: All art in this post is my own, unless I have noted otherwise. Some of these pieces are available for sale as prints or originals. You can use the links on the right side of the page or in my bio to go to my print sale site or my Etsy for the originals. Some aren't there yet, but will be coming soon.
For most people, drawing is the first art form that they ever experience. Most of us are handed crayons before we're allowed to eat most solid foods. Besides potentially considering sculpture/carving, drawing was probably the first art form ever used by human beings. Many people think they aren't good at it... but I believe that anyone can draw decent art if they put in practice. You aren't going to draw something spectacular on your first try unless you're some sort of savant. I can't tell you how many eyeballs I've drawn in the pursuit of a half decent technique.... but now, I feel like I can draw a pretty decent eye.
 |
| "Somebody's Watching Me" |
I think one of the big problems, at least for myself, is that I hold myself to a really high standard. If I'm not liking the direction a piece is headed, I'll just stop and put it away and sometimes never return to it. Ink drawings are very difficult for me, because if you make a mistake, you're likely not going to be able to fix it.... but that isn't always the case. I actually recently returned to a drawing that I had started in ink, made a mistake and then went back and found a way to fix what I didn't like. I asked a few people if they noticed anything, without cueing them into the fact that there was something I didn't like, and not a single one of them could tell... can you?
Even though I've been drawing for pretty much all of my life, I still feel like I'm learning: ways to use the tools, ways to enhance my drawings, and testing the limits of my work. Recently, I have been practicing hands, as part of a series of art that I am working on. This might possibly be the first series that I will consider exhibiting in quite some time, but it also won't be done for quite some time. The updates on that project will only be available on my Patreon until the series is done (Top Secret!!).
 |
| "Prithvi Mudra" |
 |
| "Padma Mudra" |
Ok great, so how does that help everyone reading this now? First, let it serve as inspiration for you. Through hard work and practice, you'll be able to do anything that you put your mind to and become better at it. Second, I do have some great resources for you on this topic that I want to share. I will be putting up a separate post at a later date on my blog that goes through all of my "must have" supplies, so I'm not going to share that here, but here is a list of the best resources that I use to fine tune my craft:
- Class Central - Not all of the classes are free, but they do have some amazing drawing classes available. This link will take you to their top ten free classes.
- Artist's Network - Basic tutorials
- Empty Easel - Drawing tutorials
- Staedtler - One of my favorite graphite pencils to use, they also have tutorials on their website
In the coming future, I'm going to be posting some of my own tutorials. I'm not sure what format I'll be putting these in yet - they may be step by step photographs or some videos. Is there a particular way you'd prefer to learn? If so, leave me a comment below!
xoxo