Drawing Skills

Developing ourselves as artists is a lot like building a house, you need a sturdy foundation. We often see a great painting and we say to ourselves, "I want to do that!" So we sign up for a watercolor or oil class, we buy all the supplies and you arrive for your first class ready to go! By the end of class you're somewhat discouraged

that your painting doesn't look like the instructor's or anything like the one you saw somewhere. Now you're feeling bad and here you spent all this money for materials. Well, I'm here to tell you NOT TO GIVE UP!! You may have just missed a step in the process.

To get back to our "house foundation", one step in the art process is getting drawing instruction. This step is often overlooked and then when you go to a class on watercolor etc. you will be expecting yourself to pull what you know on drawing and incorporate it with this new medium , adjust to how this new medium works, and you're trying to figure out how to mix different colors! That is an enormous task to expect of yourself. It's overwhelming and enough to make you quit.

Now just pause a minute! Hang on to those new supplies! Stop and take a good drawing class that will cover good drawing skills. This class should include skills like perspective, contour drawing, composition, and more. When you have a good understanding and you've practiced, then go and take that watercolor or pastel class. You'll find it less overwhelming. You'll retain more information and

you'll be suprised at how well your painting will come out!

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Drawings: Mother and Daughter by Leslie (adult)

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Apple Wreath and Fall Leaves by Olivia (age 11)

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Olivia has gone through the drawing class and has moved onto colored pencil. She set up this composition herself in class and completed it in colored pencil.