Where To Begin

Like staring at a blank page, not knowing what to write, type, draw, it can be intimidating and difficult to start a drawing. Or such as in a classroom drawing with others, feeling embarrassed or pressure of what your lines will look like and the outcome to others. Having been a very shy, an introvert, and someone who has had to learn confidence, it has been (and still is at times) challenging in being okay with where you are, and how to press forward to be better. It is going to be a series of corrections. Just keep things simple, and don’t get ahead in thoughts. Next, how to tackle that blank sheet. Well, perhaps knowing the preface to a method will ensure to keep things simple and basic. When drawing from anything, you have to break things down to simple shapes and big lines. It can be challenging to fight the urge to draw smaller details you see, or even just the connection of how to make a big, blocky shape end up looking like that hand with five fingers. It takes practice, but also just know that you will get there. No need to be there now. It doesn’t have to be this minute. Drawing and painting is a process, slowing down. So do not keep your mind in a rushed state, just take a simple trapezoid and make it match the trapezoid proportions you see before you. Let’s take a vase with flowers, for example. Then separate the big grouped (one big shape of one or more items) flowers shape and vase shape, refining the proportions of these as you go. Just put some lines down and correct, correct, and correct. And correct some more. Then after that, correct again if needed. Always remember to step back after every line you draw so you can check it if it is correct. If you don’t, you will find much of your time spinning around the drawing correcting mistakes that could have been corrected from the start. Next, you can group smaller and smaller with simple shapes the entire way until you begin to find your cluster of roses, baby breathe, lilies, and so forth, in that symmetrical oval vase. And that is when the mind can connect the shapes to something you are looking at in front of you. You find where those flowers are, and know they are going to be in the right place. Be patient. Remember to erase any unnecessary, distracting lines along the way. Those are lines you used to help find a point, angle change, or anything else that is now part of your “vase” or “flowers” and will not help you find any more information.