One of the most exciting aspects of drawing is to find different ways to achieve different effects.

I asked my husband if I could borrow his carpenter's pencil. (I think he knows he'll never see it again!)

You can get these in different grades. The one I gratefully received was a medium.

Also, luckily for me, my husband had inadvertently put grooves in the wide part of the lead. This was an added extra that I wasn't expecting! I'm going to pretend that I thought to add that little creative touch.

I'll be busy coming up with ways to use this and to see what I can produce.

Then, I'll sandpaper the lead to see how I can use the thickness of the lead and flow it onto the thin side. I can always use my craft knife to put the nicks back in.

I love doing this fiddling with my art.

I hope you get a chance to experiment with a carpenter's pencil. If you buy one, make sure you get the softest lead.

Then, if you're really pleased with your creation, don't forget you can submit it and display it on my site.

- Sorry, this option is no longer available. :(

I'd like to thank all the artists who send in their drawings and then they proceed to offer encouragement (via the comments) to each other. These actions make me really happy.

I'm also grateful for the great stories that have been written.

(Links removed - out of date.)

Tip of the Month

This month I'm using a quote as the tip. It is just so apt.

"Practice by drawing things large, as if equal in representation and reality.

In small drawings, every large weakness is easily hidden;

in the large, the smallest weakness is easily seen."

(By Leon Battista Alberti.)

So, when you are learning to draw, the best thing you can do to help yourself is to draw large.

That way, when you hold your drawing up to a mirror (for example), you can see what areas you need to work on.

I prefer to find errors myself and not have them pointed out to me. That's a vanity thing!

Thank you,, for taking the time out of your busy day to read this issue.

You can simply reply to this email if you have any feedback you'd like to share.

Please take care,

Kerry.