dynah_moe

As I mentioned yesterday I'm working on an illustration. I'm also pretty sure I mentioned how crappy it's going. So I had an idea last night: I went to punchstock.com, (a stock photography site) and did thumbnail sketches of some of the photos. Of course this was just for practice, but what good practice it was. First, it helps the hand-eye coordination, second it builds a memory for how to draw certain things, (e.g. a bent arm), and it improves my ability to draw accurately and quickly.

I know most artists sketch from life, but I have to build up to that. I'm not too bad with a still life, but if I tried to draw anything moving I'd end up scribbling all over the page. Not to mention I get self conscious drawing in public. So this quick photo skteching is a good exercise-- at least for now.

I've wanted to be a disciplined artist for a long time. But then I realized that you can be either disciplined or have fun. I wanted to have fun drawing and painting more than I wanted to work at it. But every time I picked up a pencil to draw I'd judge myself too harshly so there was no way I could enjoy the process.

I've decided instead to become a DEVOTED artist. That means that I love making art, and even though it tests my patience at times, I'll give my artwork the attention it deserves.

So, enough with the writing: I'm off to draw!