We tend to be very impatient when we really want something, don't we? Like when we have a yearning to draw, we want to be good from the very beginning -- who needs to wade through boring lessons, right?

I'm sorry to put a damper on your expectations but successful drawing does take patience and practice (along with plenty of mistakes) but stay with me because I have another special secret to share only with you!

...I have discovered that we can practice drawing mentally and this small effort really does enhance our skills, as amazing as that sounds.

On my About Me page, I relate the story of how I first realized that I wanted to be an artist when I began drawing faces in my mind. At the time, I did not understand that this mental process actually helped me build a good foundation for drawing effortlessly.

When I look back at my beginner practice pages, I am still amazed at some of the work I produced even though I had never drawn anything recognizable in my 40+ years of life. My initial results spurred me on with great momentum because I wanted to experience many more of those exhilarating feelings of discovery.

Years later, I am now convinced that the art of visualization played an important part in making learning to draw a pleasant experience -- believe it or not but I will stand by that statement in a courtroom!

December is such a busy month and it's difficult to find the time to draw so I always try to come up with ideas for sustaining our skills when pencil and paper are out of reach. That was when it suddenly hit me that mental drawing is a good way for you to progress and master this art!

As you go about your daily chores, look at things and identify the lines or shapes that you would use to draw them and proceed to draw mentally. By the time you get to actually put pencil to paper, your subject will flow from your mind and through your pencil like magic -- it's bound to surprise you!

Resources for Christmas

Drawing Tip of the Month

Handy Links