I have been amazed at the lack of quality art lessons available online. I did a google search and came up with nothing special. As an artist I am constantly told by people I meet, "Oh I wish I could draw"!

It is funny but I have been drawing since I can remember and I never really wanted to learn how to draw, I just did it. I guess it comes natural to some and this must frustrate the rest of us. I am a firm believer that anyone can learn to draw, they just need a good teacher. The shame of many teaching art is that they themselves don’t know how to draw.

Don’t get me wrong here folks, it’s not that I am against abstract art, in fact some of my favourite images are very abstract, but really there is no excuse for someone who is teaching art who cannot draw realistically. Simple fact most people find this a challenge and this is what they want to achieve and is exactly what they mean when they say, "I wish I could draw".

If I am wrong here, then really they have no problem being unable to draw realistically. Just pick a pen and start to scribble and create abstract stuff.

Not the same is it. Although very liberating when you have conquered the challenges of "seeing correctly". Yes that is right, drawing is all about seeing correctly. We mistakenly think that it must in those wonderful hands, that the secret to drawing lies.

No.

It’s not the hands, its in the brain. How well you see determines who well you draw. Full stop.

Learn to see.

Learn to draw.

Not hard hey? Well yes and no. We need to learn to see what we are looking at in ordeer to understand it. Then we need to see what we are drawing in order to correct it when it goes wrong, and it always does go wrong.

Problems that are typical in art students that are struggling, are these; assume they know what they are looking at & too afraid to look boldly enough at what they are drawing to actually be brave enough to correct it.

Learn to draw? Anyone want to know how?

Written by Greg Gillespie - View Profile | Share This

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