Learning to draw and learning to see

Not sure where this goes, if it even goes here, but given how resourceful you all are, and …

I’m wondering about recommendations for immersive ‘camps’ or ‘retreats’ or ‘schools’ to approach drawing/seeing/being in the moment. Something at a fairly ‘beginner at drawing’ level.

Edwards’ Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is already on the table, looking for something more experiential / mentored / not really sure.

Ideas?

1 Like

This book was very helpful to me in a similar way to Drawing on the Right Side:

4 Likes

I like Bert Dobson’s book Keys to Drawing. He talks about inner dialog while drawing which is very helpful.

Regular practice drawing from life really pushes you skills. I used to sketch my fellow commuters every day on the train.

I find life drawing really helps. You brain is so attuned to what a human looks like, that it will be obvious where you have gone wrong in your drawing. For practicing to draw what I see, I draw in pencil and sight sized.

You could try joining an Urban Sketchers outing. It helped me get more comfortable sketching in public.

2 Likes

New Masters Academy is a pretty great online educational resource. They’ve got some really nice video tutorials from a number of ridiculously talented, modern day-masters (the name is rather apt considering some of the teachers there). I’d recommend it :slight_smile:

https://www.nma.art/

2 Likes

I’m sitting on the bus having just finished a life drawing class. You don’t need more than a couple of hours to wipe you out, it’s exhausting. I’d recommend going somewhere with the intention of drawing for a solid hour or two, and then do something else. Shorter periods of intense engagement will stop you getting too fatigued with it. I also like having lots of materials available so that if I get fed up or stuck in a rut I can change to using something totally different. Enjoy and Good Luck!

3 Likes