Can Repetition REALLY be FUN?! Painting & Drawing Tips

You love to paint but your drawing Sucks. 

Not much fun painting something that really doesn't look right.  Despite what they say, colour doesn't hide mistakes. 

TULIPS IN THE SUNSHINE - Sketchbook Practice

Improving your drawing skills requires only 1 thing, PRACTISE.  No surprise there, we all knew that.  But how to make that practice interesting and exciting is the challenge.  

I know where you're coming from.  I am a self taught artist and learning to draw well was a huge learning curve for me.  Pushing myself to practice was something I had to learn to do. 

Things I do to make Drawing Practice more fun.  

1.  Have a special spot with supplies handy.  I have a drawing table now but early on my drawing place was the kitchen table or the couch.  I had my portable kit packed and handy so there was little set up time.  I started with a small basic kit: sketchbook, erasers, set of pencils and a few pens. As I worked I added more things.

 

2.  Have reference material handy.  I always had a collection of 8 or 10 pictures I was interested in drawing.  These are usually in a special Album on my ipad but sometimes I print them out as well.  Depends on what you like to work with.  Using the special Album in your Photos means you can find your picture quickly, no scrolling. 

Tulips in the Garden - I love it when the Tulips start to grow, they are the first big splashes of colour in the garden.  

3.  Be easy on yourself.  Tell your Inner Critic to take a break and just draw.  See post: Turn your Inner Critic into you BFF

4.  Challenge yourself.  I make mini-challenges for myself.  When I judge my drawing it is based only on my challenge. I try not to be critical of anything else.  

 

To me these Tulips are friendly and happy - makes me feel good to work with them.  

A Challenge that can turn Repetition into Fun

Take a picture of a subject that is not too complex.  For this example I used a picture of my tulips from our garden last spring.  Fill you page with tulips.  To provide variety I reversed the picture and drew the same tulip.  

Reversing the image gives variety to your practice

Why draw the same thing?

a.  Your drawing improves as you become more familiar with the subject

b.  Easier to focus on things like colour, values and mediums if you are comfortable with drawing the subject

Sketchbooking - TULIPS IN INK - Trying different mediums brings new ideas in focal points and composition. 

c.  Composition Skills are tested as you try different placements of your subject.  

d.  Inspirational thoughts will begin to bloom. "What if I make them . . ."

A Free bonus offer, I have prepared a Free Download of my Tulip Pictures to help you get started on your practice. ( I know you will have trouble getting tulip pictures at this time of year.) When picking pictures, you need pictures of your subject that show a few different views. They need lighting that shows shadow patterns. And enough information that allows you to build a few different kinds of compositions  (It is important that you inspire yourself with good references when working on a challenge.)  

For lots more ideas and inspiration check out my video: Repetition Can be FUN!! 

Take the Challenge and Enjoy your practice - You will be amazed how quickly you get caught up 'In the Moment' and your drawing becomes FUN. 

See you next week.  

Get Free Download of my Tulip Pictures HERE.

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Many find this post helpful: Turn your Inner Critic into your BFF

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