The Artist's First Steps

Hi! 

What happens when we step back and take in a full view such as a landscape or a busy street? It can be overwhelming. Young artists typically shy away from this type of subject and focus on one tree or one object within their view. That's okay, if that's what you want to draw. But, there might be occasion when you want to show a subject and what surrounds it. 

Today, I will show you how to approach a complicated subject like a landscape. This photo was taken near the Rocky Mountains. Objects fill every part of it, including a pretty complex group of clouds in the sky. But all can be handled easily when we know how to look at the objects within. I always tell my students, "We can draw anything we want, but we can't draw everything." There's a reason we don't start with drawing every leaf that we see. 

Enjoy Drawing!

Brenda Ellis, author of ARTistic Pursuits.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER

• Our skills in art are never improved with information alone. We have to make the art to
...

Hi!

Children will draw an object by giving attention in their drawing to what is important to them.  We all draw the things that are most important to us. While adults and older children may be very interested in drawing an object to look three-dimensional, young children will be far more interested in drawing that curved tail, because what is a dog without a tail? Here is where we get to be grown up and not criticize or even point out that strange third-dimension that is so important to us, but may have no meaning to a young child. Every drawing is unique. Every person is unique. I love it all. 

With that said, I do want to point out the third dimension, depth, for my older audience. So jump into the video and you'll see that drawing depth at times is just drawing lines where we see another edge.

Enjoy Drawing!

Brenda Ellis, Author of ARTistic Pursuits.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER

1. Drawing from observation lets us draw ANYTHING we see in our world.
2. Paying attention to what
...

Hi!

I hope you can practice intentional wandering today, even if it is in your own backyard or a nearby park. Today we talk about walking with a purpose and how that purpose, the act of looking for something specific, helps wake up our brain so that we pay more attention to those things around us. Design your trip. What will you look for? Will you draw outdoors? If so, a simple clip board or any hard surface to back up your piece of paper is all you'll need to add to your pencil, copy paper, and eraser. 

Happy Wandering!

Brenda Ellis, Author of Artistic Pursuits.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER

Seeing is building a body of knowledge that we can pull from as we create on paper.

A basic drawing strategy is to:

• start with a sheet of paper that is one or two inches larger than the small object you want to draw.
• use light lines when you first begin to draw (so that they can be erased or moved easily)
• focus on the edges of the objects you see, drawing simple shapes to get placement
...

Hi!

We have drawn a lot of small subjects and improved our drawing skills by reaching for that goal of making our drawing of the objects the exact size of the actual objects. I've designed your course this way to help those who drew too small, and to heighten your awareness of the edge of the paper and distances to that edge and the edges of objects within the space. 

I should mention, however that you can draw an object larger or smaller than it actually appears. I can put a whole quarter mile of train track within a 9 x 12 inch piece of paper if I want to. I can also draw a dime the size of a baseball. So please do not feel like you can only choose small things in every drawing. 

With that said, today we will draw to size, so find some objects that will fit within the space of your paper and tear the paper to make it smaller if necessary. 

Enjoy Drawing!

Brenda Ellis, author of ARTistic Pursuits.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER

• How to draw an object to size
• Use guidelines to dr...

Hi!

Today we will discuss making a plan, but I want to emphasize that there are always options in art. Each person is an individual and will want to make a plan that fits their personality and drawing style.

I want to remind our older students that you can select a more difficult subject to draw in order to challenge yourself with these drawing assignments. You might pick two or three objects and draw them in a group. 

I want to remind our younger students that your drawings are beautiful. Don't compare what you can do with my drawings or the drawings of others in your family. I love what you see. I love what you draw. We all draw differently and that's the beauty of art. I love the art that you create!

Enjoy Drawing!

Brenda Ellis, Author of ARTistic Pursuits.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER

Three types of plans

• line to identify the edge
• shapes to reposition easily
• marks to identity top, bottom, and side to side

Using the shape plan to ensure that all the effort put into you...

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, sure lines...

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 skill that
...

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 drawing 
• The most familiar
...