The Artist's First Steps

Hi!

Today we look at how our hand and arm are tools for drawing. Our physical body plays a part in our drawings. Our eyes move quickly around a subject, pausing and refocusing. Our wrist and elbows allow rotation, for making smooth arcs and curves. The shoulder allows for horizontal and vertical lines to be pulled in a straight line across the paper. Learn how to use your wrist, elbow, and shoulder as tools to make smooth lines that pack excitement! 

Enjoy Drawing!

Brenda Ellis, Author of ARTistic Pursuits.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER

1. Beyond our eyes, and our mind, our physical body plays an important role in how we draw. 

2. Using the wrist and elbow to pivot, we can make smooth curves. 

3. Using our shoulder we can pull straight lines across the space of the page. 

 Go to ARTistic Pursuits website.

Hi,

Why do some drawings look bland, while others really pop? Here we show how drawing can mimic the way our eyes view the world, making any drawing stand out! It's called focus. Look at how artist, Edgar Degas gave great attention to detail in the figure of the man in a red coat, but left the horse in line only.  We see the horse, so we know what the man sits upon, but Degas chose to emphasize the man with color and more detail like the creases in his coat and pants. When you want something to stand out, you can give focus to your drawings too. 

Enjoy Drawing!

Brenda Ellis

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER

1. You can mimic the way our eyes work, by giving focus to one area of your picture. 

2. We do not need to draw everything we know about each subject in our drawing. Choose an object you want to stand out and draw more details in that area. 

3. Lighten lines toward the edges of the picture. 

Go to ARTistic Pursuits website.

Hi,

I'm so glad you've joined me the second drawing lesson of the summer. Have you ever spent a good deal of time on a drawing only to notice that a part of it was off? You wonder why you didn't see it earlier and now it feels like it's too late to make the change. Is this caused because you could not draw the line or because you did not notice the placement? I think it's always an error in observation, not because you lacked skills. You see, as we draw, we notice more and more about what we are looking at. When we are willing to make the changes as soon as we notice them, then our drawing does not get too finished too soon. Today we will discuss a practice that can greatly improve the outcome of your drawing, when you strengthen your muscle memory within the first 5 minutes.

Enjoy Drawing!

Brenda Ellis

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER

1. When we draw an object we create muscle memory.

2. Muscle memory helps us to remember how we did it the first time, so there is less...

Hi,

I'm so glad you've joined me this summer for our first lesson. Children to adults can sometimes be tripped up by the first steps to drawing from observation. But that is exactly what you'll want to do, because when you find you own subject to draw, the drawing is truly yours! As your skills grow, you'll gain the confidence to draw anything, any subject, that appeals to your tastes and interests. 

I can't tell you how important drawing is. Any fully-rendered, shaded drawing or colorful painting relies completely on those first lines that you put onto the paper. If your line drawing is off, no amount of shading or coloring will make that better. That's why our summer lessons show you topics that will improve your drawing skills. 

Enjoy Drawing!

Brenda Ellis

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER

1. If you can't clearly see the edges of your subject, you won't be able to draw it well.

2. Improve that edge by sitting the object in more light. 

...

Hi,

I'm so glad you've joined me for a WEEKLY summer art challenge. These will post on Monday mornings June 6 to July 11. We will focus on an aspect of the element of color. Color can be used by young and old, experienced and those new to the topic. I want you to look around your home and explore the outdoors to find subjects for your drawings and paintings. When we look at actual objects, we see more information than we can imagine! Use that information in your art. 

Your art materials will be colored paper, scissors and glue. 

Enjoy Color Drawing and Painting!

Brenda Ellis

YOUR COLOR CHALLENGE

Your Challenge: Look at three trees or plants of different SHAPES. Draw the outside edge of each tree as one shape on a colored piece of paper. Cut it out and glue onto a sheet of colored paper. Draw a few leaf SHAPES. Cut them out and glue inside the tree shape, as shown in the video. Study the leaf carefully and notice the details before you draw it. ...

Hi,

I'm so glad you've joined me for a WEEKLY summer art challenge. These will post on Monday mornings June 6 to July 11. We will focus on an aspect of the element of color. Color can be used by young and old, experienced and those new to the topic. I want you to look around your home and explore the outdoors to find subjects for your drawings and paintings. When we look at actual objects, we see more information than we can imagine! Use that information in your art. 

Your art materials can be dry, such as crayons, pastels, oil pastels, and colored pencils, or they can be wet, like watercolor pan sets, watercolor pencils, watercolor crayons, and acrylics.  Use the materials you have on hand. 

Enjoy Color Drawing and Painting!

Brenda Ellis

YOUR COLOR CHALLENGE

Your Challenge: Go outdoors and find 3 plants you enjoy looking at. Draw them, color them, paint them. Build colors with light pressure, as shown in the video. Keep colors in their...

Hi,

I'm so glad you've joined me for a WEEKLY summer art challenge. These will post on Monday mornings June 6 to July 11. We will focus on an aspect of the element of color. Color can be used by young and old, experienced and those new to the topic. I want you to look around your home and explore the outdoors to find subjects for your drawings and paintings. When we look at actual objects, we see more information than we can imagine! Use that information in your art. 

Your art materials can be dry, such as crayons, pastels, oil pastels, and colored pencils, or they can be wet, like watercolor pan sets, watercolor pencils, watercolor crayons, and acrylics.  Use the materials you have on hand. 

Enjoy Color Drawing and Painting!

Brenda Ellis

YOUR COLOR CHALLENGE

Subject: Find your favorite animal. It could be alive, a stuffed toy, a plastic figure, or other three-dimensional object.

Your Challenge I: Find something that looks like your favorite...

Hi,

I'm so glad you've joined me for a WEEKLY summer art challenge. These will post on Monday mornings June 6 to July 11. We will focus on an aspect of the element of color. Color can be used by young and old, experienced and those new to the topic. I want you to look around your home and explore the outdoors to find subjects for your drawings and paintings. When we look at actual objects, we see more information than we can imagine! Use that information in your art. 

Your art materials can be dry, such as crayons, pastels, oil pastels, and colored pencils, or they can be wet, like watercolor pan sets, watercolor pencils, watercolor crayons, and acrylics.  Use the materials you have on hand. 

Enjoy Color Drawing and Painting!

Brenda Ellis

YOUR COLOR CHALLENGE

Subject: Find items that mean "SUMMER" to you.

Your Challenge: Draw items (look at the objects) that mean SUMMER to you. Bring your color drawing to life...

Hi,

I'm so glad you've joined me for a WEEKLY summer art challenge. These will post on Monday mornings June 6 to July 11. We will focus on an aspect of the element of color. Color can be used by young and old, experienced and those new to the topic. I want you to look around your home and explore the outdoors to find subjects for your drawings and paintings. When we look at actual objects, we see more information than we can imagine! Use that information in your art. 

Your art materials can be dry, such as crayons, pastels, oil pastels, and colored pencils, or they can be wet, like watercolor pan sets, watercolor pencils, watercolor crayons, and acrylics.  Use the materials you have on hand. 

Enjoy Color Drawing and Painting!

Brenda Ellis

YOUR COLOR CHALLENGE

Subject: Clear glass containers filled with water of different colors. Use food coloring or watercolor paint to color the water.

Your Challenge: Fill clear glass containers with colored liquids, using food...

Hi,

I'm so glad you've joined me for a WEEKLY summer art challenge. These will post on Monday mornings June 6 to July 11. We will focus on an aspect of the element of color. Color can be used by young and old, experienced and those new to the topic. I want you to look around your home and explore the outdoors to find subjects for your drawings and paintings. When we look at actual objects, we see more information than we can imagine! Use that information in your art. 

Your art materials can be dry, such as crayons, pastels, oil pastels, and colored pencils, or they can be wet, like watercolor pan sets, watercolor pencils, watercolor crayons, and acrylics.  Use the materials you have on hand. 

Enjoy Color Drawing and Painting!

Brenda Ellis

YOUR COLOR CHALLENGE

Subject: Flowers of any type

Your Challenge: Go outdoors and find 3 plants you enjoy looking at. Draw them, using COLOR mixing to get as close to the right colors as you can. Build colors with...