Daily Drawing: 4 Steps to a Practice that Sticks
Some of the most common advice to aspiring visual artists is “draw everyday.”
With any skill, you can only start from the level you’re at, and intentional practice leads to better results. By intentional I mean focused, deliberate and regular. If you’re willing to be bad at something often enough, with proper practice you’ll eventually become good at it. This to me was the obvious benefit of a daily drawing practice.
But it wasn’t the part I struggled with.
For many years after leaving school, I wanted to keep pursuing my art but I floundered. Drawing everyday sounded easy, but then I couldn’t decide what to draw.
(Stock image from Unsplash, by Debby Hudson @hudsoncreated)
Another common piece of advice is to draw whatever is around you. I think that overwhelmed me. Perhaps because I was thinking every drawing needed to be a highly detailed masterpiece. A pencil sketch of my lounge room could take all day! I once spent about 45 minutes on a drawing of a couple of almonds, as part of yet another short-lived burst of “draw everyday.”
Here’s what works for me now:
1. Let go of perfect (interesting is better)
Over the past few years, I’ve built a much more consistent and rewarding art practice. It started with letting go of expecting every drawing to be a masterpiece. Wanting every mark to be just right. I said goodbye to perfectionism and embraced the interesting. Now I regularly draw and paint from life, almost everyday.
“Interesting is better than perfect.”
2. Use whatever time you can (5 minutes is great)
Occasionally I do have the opportunity to spend a couple of hours making a detailed drawing, but far more often it’s a 20 minute sketch. I’ve learnt even if I only have 5 minutes, I can do a quick gesture drawing or blind contour. And these can produce some of the most interesting results.
It all trains my eye, my hand, and fills up the inner storeroom of elements I use in my studio paintings.
Also, the more I draw, the better my quick sketches actually get! This has become more of an added benefit to me, rather than the main point of my practice.
3. Carry an everyday art kit (it can be minimalist)
Really all you need is a small sketchbook and a pencil or pen. In fact, if you have a ballpoint pen and an old envelope you can draw. But I find I’m more likely to sketch on the go when I have some well though-out art supplies with me. I have an everyday kit that packs small and goes everywhere. It easily scales up when I go out deliberately to draw. It has the materials and colours I like to use, and the variety I enjoy as a mixed-media artist. More on this to come in future posts.
4. Find a way to commit
I left this until last on purpose. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to commit to something unless I’m confident I’ll do it. Hopefully if you weren’t confident you could commit to a daily art practice before, you are now.
You can absolutely make imperfect marks (the quirkier the better) for 5 minutes a day on whatever paper you have handy, for the purpose of training your eye and hand. Training them to analyse and visually describe what you perceive in our 3D world onto a 2D surface. Yep, you can. And you can get good at it if you commit. Commitment can look like dating each sketch, regardless of how long it’s been since the last one. Honouring each day you do draw. It can look like checkboxes or marks on a calendar. Maybe start with a goal of three times per week?
Hashtag challenges on platforms like instagram can also be effective. Last month I participated in the January #stradaeasel challenge (there’s another one in September), which involved drawing or painting from life every day and posting the results to my page. It was a frantic month finishing work for Rhythms of Place, so some days all I could manage was a little blind contour drawing of something in my studio at 11.30pm. But it was a great reminder of how enriching a daily practice can be. And now I find myself in the camp of artists advising you to “draw everyday.” You really can, if you make it easy (using these steps) and be kind to yourself. Have fun!
P.S. Over the next few weeks I’ll “unpack” what’s in my art kit, so be sure to check back if you’re curious. My Insider List receives a monthly digest of my news and content. It’s not at all spammy or salesy, just value-packed content for people who are interested in my art and how I make it. Insiders never miss out! (And can unsubscribe at any time.)