You can improve your drawing skills by constantly drawing a subject you love.

By practicing with this subject that you are enthusiastic about, you will acquire new drawing skills that will flow on to your next drawing subject. That is, when you are ready to move on! So, where does your interest lie?

My Mum hit an impasse with her art because she was trying to diversify her drawing subjects. (Mum was worried everyone was getting sick of her landscapes.) She found she was reluctant to pick up her pencils whenever she decided to draw something new.

I didn't like to see that Mum had stopped drawing and she seemed to have lost her spark. I knew her love lay with landscapes. So, I encouraged Mum to stay with that topic.

I'm happy to say that Mum has taken my advice and she's been producing some magnificent landscapes.

Don't worry if you think you've pigeon-holed yourself, that's fine. Take a look at all of the artists who specialize in one topic. Each subject offers its own intricacies and they are all individual.

I know I never get tired of looking at Mum's artwork and I never think "Oh no, not another landscape." Instead, I marvel at how wonderful they are and I wish I could draw like that! There is such a huge variety in landscape drawing, how could we ever get bored looking at the wonders of nature?

Now, you may be remembering that I mentioned in a previous newsletter not to keep drawing things that you know you can draw successfully. This statement is specifically aimed at beginner artists.

Your skills will not develop if you stay with the same thing over and over.

When you're learning, you need to be investigating all of the different mediums, shading techniques, topics and so on, just so you can discover what interests you and what tools are available to you. Eventually, you will settle into your niche.

Let's not rush the settling in process. It's too much fun being an explorer!

Now that I have finished giving my site a makeover, I can start adding more drawings again. It's good to be back at the drawing board. I definitely feel an inner peace when I'm drawing.

Drawing Cartoons -
Drawing cartoons is such an adventure, it really takes you into another world. Here I've shown you some cartoon outlines that I drew in next to no time. They provide a good drawing exercise.

If you lose your way, become confused or can't move forward, just refer to your journal or sketchbook to find where you went wrong.

If you don't have a sketchbook that you make notes in, look over your last few sketches to see if you can pinpoint where the problem lies.

It could be something as simple as moving on to another topic before you were ready.

It's not a good idea to ask for a critique of your drawings if you can't handle criticism. You don't want to lose your enthusiasm so protect it at all costs.

Don't forget, you build your own solid foundation by consistently practicing drawing simple shapes. That is, drawing circles, triangles, oval shapes, squares and oblong shapes. You also gain a lot of control by practicing lines at all different angles and degrees of thickness.

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

You can simply reply to this email if you have anything you'd like to share with me.

Take care,

Kerry.

www.AllAboutDrawings.com