J
ustwhenwethoughtour
enforcedstayathomewould
meanwehadplentyoftime
tomakeourart,wediscoverhow
difficultit is tobemotivated.A lack
ofmotivationis familiartomanyof
us,especiallywhenworryingthoughts
fill ourmindandweneedtogetover
thetaskavoidance.
A wayforwardI foundhelpfulwasto
establisha 15minute-a-dayroutine
ofdrawing,settingmyselfa particular
timetodothiseveryday.Regular
drawingpracticeimprovesour
coordinationandobservationskills,
and 15 minutesis anachievable
amountoftimetosetaside.
Startwitha freshnewsketchbook.
Somanydifferentdrawingtools
areavailable,butI recommend
reacquaintingyourselfwitha pencil.
Thereis somethingverycalming
aboutpencildrawing,it’seasyto
forgethowgoodsoftgraphitefeels
onpaper– a 2Bor4Bwouldbegreat.
Drawsomethingsmall,simple,and
tohand.It shouldalsobesomethingyoulike– a leafortwoona plant,
halfa tomato,a shell,a sofacushion.
There’snoneedtobetooambitious.
Youmightdrawa familymember
watchingTV.A petis anothergreat
subject.If heorshemovesa lot,
makeseveralsmalldrawingsonone
sketchbookpageinthe 15 minutes.
Beginlightly,makingmarksasyou
seethem.Drawoverthesesofter
lineswithhardermarkstocorrector
improvethedrawing.Builduptones
usinga seriesofclosemarks.
Seta timerandalwaysstopafter
15 minutes.Getusedtowhatcanbe
achievedinthattime.Asyoubegin
todrawfasterandmoreaccurately,
a confidenceandfluencydevelops.
Staywithpencilforaslongasyoulike
beforemovingontoanotherdrawing
tool,suchasa biro,a contépencil
ora finelinerpen.Keepit up, 15
minuteseveryday;thehabitquickly
establishesandbecomesa partof
thedayyoucan’tbewithout.
Havingestablisheda regular
warm-updrawingroutine,addintoBeauty in
the Everyday
FELICITY HOUSE kicks things off with a look
at how to develop good routinesMake the most of your enforced stay
indoors with our 15-page technique special
focused on lockdown subjects, from mirror
self-portraits to drawing from windowsPAINT AT
HOME
Felicity House,
Red Peppers,
pastel on paper,
18x21cm