Often people find they are restricted in their painting because they don’t trust their ability to draw. The trust is crucial. It is always exciting and fun — for the students who discover, in spite of their doubts, that they too can draw.
Drawing is about self-discovery. It is about tuning in and tuning out. The week will be as much about learning how to shut out the world and allow yourself to tap into your artist self as it trying different ways to draw. With a “Yes I can!” attitude, anyone can learn to draw.
There are some “secrets” to learning to draw – or learning to see to draw. To understand these try a variety of ways of drawing with a variety of different tools. We will do some exploring of Orcas as we find different subjects to draw. We will do quick drawings and longer drawings. In the course of the week you will try.
- contour drawings
- shaded drawings
- blind contour drawings
- gesture drawings
- shadow shape drawing
- simple figure drawing
- simple perspective
- simplifying complicated subject
- tinted drawings
- drawing to scale
- exploring areas of specific interest to you
blind contour drawing
Equipment:
All you NEED is
- a pen – I will have one nice gel pen for you.
- a sketchbook, I like Robert Bateman, 8 1/2 x 11, or bring any that does not bleed when using ink
- a pencil — a 2 B (soft) is good
- a heavy marker like a Sharpie.
- You CAN bring more. A 4-pen Faber Castell set is a nice addition – and then you don’t need the Sharpie. You can also bring #4, #6 pencils.
For tinted drawings we will use watercolors; colored pencils, colored markers. Bring what you have or borrow mine.
Feel free to bring ANY and ALL drawing equipment you have including charcoal, newsprint pads, watercolor, color pencils, etc.
If you want to start practicing, go to the Technique Corner (lower left of the home page) for drawing suggestions or try Nick Meglin’s Drawing from Within. He and I see eye-to-eye on how to approach drawing.