Drawing
by Armand Cabrera
Aren’t you constantly amazed at how many
“professional” artists lack the basic skills
of good drawing? Obviously, they haven’t
done their homework and should pick up a pencil and start
drawing.
-
The
bad news:Ultimate success of your painting
abilities is forever tied to your drawing skills.
- The good news: It doesn’t take
much effort to get your skills to a capable level.
Start by dedicating a minimum of twenty minutes a day
to drawing.
You will be amazed at how fast you will improve.
Always carry a sketchbook. I personally have a variety
of sketchbooks, ranging in size from 6” x 9”
to 11” x 14”. The small books go everywhere
with me. I keep a pencil and kneaded eraser inside the
book so I can practice at every opportunity.
Think about it…you have so many chances
to practice your drawing skills:
-
When
traveling by air, you are given numerous prospects to
draw people around you in airports
- Practice drawing faces while watching the evening
news
- Draw your hands, feet, partner, children or your pets
- sit on a park bench and sketch anything that catches
your eye
- The days spent drawing will give your paintings new
life.
Although there is no substitute for drawing from life,
there are a number of good books on drawing. Look for
titles by Robert Fawcett, Theodore Kautzky, Andrew Loomis,
George Bridgman and Jack Faragasso. You’ll find
plenty of material in them to keep you busy drawing. Some
of the authors are primarily concerned with figure drawing.
The training and verisimilitude derived from learning
to draw the figure accurately will help with your facility
drawing other subject matter.
Take your painting to the next
level by going back
to basics and learning how to draw.
