The Artist's First Steps

Hi! 

I'm so glad you joined me today. Some people think that you can only be self-confident if you can do something the right way every time. But think about any sport that you watch. These people don't always get it right. They have a bad play, stumble, miss their goal, and yet they don't give up. They go right back to the task. That is how you can approach making art. 

In this lesson I am demonstrating a practice that can help you use the big movements we need to draw. Tracing may seem like a strange practice, but I've seen it help many who fear making bold marks, big marks, and working quickly and smoothly. Here I point out how timid marks can actually make drawing harder. Have you ever tried to ride a bike slowly? It's much harder than riding the bike with some speed. These are just ways to explain how drawing is better with a little self-confidence. Tracing around the shapes of photographs this week will create muscle memory so that you feel better about making swift,...

Hi!

When we draw from observation of real objects, we need to find those objects to actually look at. You will not be able to simply look at the video and choose my object. That is looking at a flat screen. So spend some time this week to notice the things in your home that would make interesting subjects for a drawing. Today's object must stand upright. We will not lay it flat beside the paper we draw onto. The information for your drawing is in the subject. Look at it often.  

Enjoy Drawing!

Brenda Ellis, Author of ARTistic Pursuits.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER

• Take pride not just in results, but in effort, risks, research, and patience.
• Viewing the object straight on requires that you keep the object and your eyes in a fixed position. 
• Move your eyes from the subject to the paper and back again to the subject. 

Hi! 

I'm so glad you joined me today. I do believe people have talent to do well in the visual arts. So if anyone has ever told you that you have a talent for art, believe them! What I do not believe is that we can judge whether we or someone else has talent based on what our or their art looks like today. I think we build the skills that people call talent. 

So, I want to address those of you who have been told that you do not have talent, or who wonder because you recognize that someone else has a little more skill than you do at this point. Anyone can build any physical skill. Making art is an action. When a bit of knowledge, like I'm giving you each week, is mixed with practice (the action) then we see improvement. This should be encouraging to any of us that want to draw, regardless of whether people would call us talented or not. If you love making art, then do it!

Enjoy Drawing!

Brenda Ellis, Author of ARTistic Pursuits.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER

• Talent is a...

Hi!

I'm so glad you joined me today. Anyone at any age can learn art skills. Today we will learn the hands motions that are necessary for making art. In art we use our hands and arms as tools. Find out how a potato and a box can help you learn to move your hand and arm to make the marks needed in art.

Enjoy Drawing!

Brenda Ellis, Author of ARTistic Pursuits

HERE'SWHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER

• Why we should make more art 
• Your hand is a tool and how to use it
• how to make curves, horizontal lines, and vertical lines

Hi!

To some, this lesson demonstration will seem obvious because whether you thought about it or not, you spotted that step right away, without giving it much thought - perhaps discovering it as a child. 

For others, it's been a life-long mystery that some people can look at an object and know where to draw the lines. 

Since it is said that 95% of people in the world do not draw, I have to assume that the idea of drawing a line where you see an edge still remains a mystery for most people. It's time to point out the obvious activity we use all the time in drawing, that isn't so obvious. 

This first step and the lines that flow from it, sets our drawing up to be a finished line drawing, a start to a fully shaded pencil drawing, or the start to a work in color using any media. It is the priceless first piece, the line drawing, that must first be put down on paper before we can ever accomplish more in our art. 

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER

• Two models for...

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. I'll discuss ways of thinking that will help you get those first lines on paper with ease. Yes, I truly think you can reach this goal in just one summer. Once our thinking is working for us, we can focus on those practices in drawing that take us to our desired goal. 

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 I'm starting at the beginning with line drawing and showing you how we get those first lines onto the paper. 

Enjoy Drawing!

Brenda Ellis

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER

1. Current brain studies show us that we can learn a new skill, like art, by repeating it.

2. First efforts, when...