When it comes to painting, I wish all potential students had: the ability to create value sketches and drawings of whatever subject they intend to paint. That doesn’t apply very directly to abstract artists, yet, even they would benefit from knowing what value, color temperature, contrast, negative space, etc. is. More or less realistic painting features even more components, including direction of light, shadows, aerial or atmospheric perspective, linear perspective, elements of composition and so forth. When creating art, we cannot forget about the quality of materials, artist’s ability to apply them, and there’s also a spiritual and mental factor to creation of art. Confidence, inspiration, focus, being able to observe and memorize visual information are all important aspects of creation when you start painting.
We were using real items for our still life drawing, its size is 24 x 18 in or 61 x 46 cm
When everything comes together: theoretical and practical skills, experience, perfect mood and great materials, we can speak of excellent artwork. Beginners will normally focus on the technical side of creation, and using brush or pencil with confidence and skill, is a huge part of success. However, if we want to see progress, we have to build a base. Value sketch or drawing are the best possible base building blocks which help you start painting. Controlling graphite pencil is much easier than swiftly flowing paint, therefore, one can learn very gradually. Pencil drawing includes all aspects of painting, plus pressure control, minus colors.
Why is it important to know how the shadows are formed? Why is it important to create negative space and apply different values? Because that’s how our drawing gets dimension, depth and interestingness. If you are very familiar with these aspects, you will paint easier and the result will be more satisfying. Painting uses exactly the same visual components. If you are like me who has excellent visual memory, you will create art without thinking about these aspects. If you are just starting out, you will have to learn how everyone of these aspects contributes to successful painting and brings your idea to life.
For this still life, we used real items again, size 24 x 18 in or 61 x 46 cm
To be honest, it’s by far not enough to trace the outline and then apply color to create a painting. Painting works when you know why something is there and why it is like that and no other way. Pencil drawing teaches all of the above and provides with good hand movement memory. It doesn’t matter actually what medium we use: if we master the principles and components, only the physical application of medium is different. As we know: the stronger the base, the better we can build upon it. Not sure where to start? Start with drawing.
For this spring creek drawing, we used photo which we modified as necessary, size 24 x 18 in or 61 x 46 cm
Drawing big and huge is even better than simply drawing. The aspects and components of painting I mentioned before need space to make them visible. We use most often large size paper: 24 x 18 in or 61 x 46 cm for classes. I use the same size for my value sketches. We don’t have to finish the drawing as finalized artwork, but we can do that, as well. I bring most of my value sketches to condition when they can serve as a reference for watercolor or acrylic painting. Setting up real items or viewing real trees, grasses and plants and anything else allows creating easier. I teach drawing only in private classes because it requires very individual approach. The attached images are created from real things and photos. The weather is great in spring and summer, so start drawing outdoors and turn your sketches into completed artworks.
For me, many of paintings start with pencil sketch or drawing. It can be a marker or a simple black pen, too. I’ve never counted my drawings, but there are numerous of them, many hundreds. Every time when I give an art class, I create an outline sketch, value sketch or quite a detailed drawing. Compared to other medium choices we have, drawing is the simplest and the least dependent medium on anything. We need just something to draw with and on, but the rest can be imagination, real items, even a photo. In my opinion, pencil drawing is the beginning of any art which displays realism to some degree.
Easy drawing process
Pencil drawing doesn’t require timing your process. It allows to start, put off and continue any time afterwards. With water media, such as watercolor or acrylic, timing is an extremely important factor. The same goes for humidity, ambient temperature and similar aspects. Quality of water media art is strongly affected by the quality of art supplies. Pencil drawing can be done even when we do not have special pencils of different hardness, we can draw even without eraser and pretty much on any paper. I do regret that many of my drawings are done on transparent paper since I needed them to be transferable onto watercolor paper. They don’t look that good when photographed and cannot be presented as finished artwork, although, many are. In fact, any large and very large drawings are problematic to photograph.
Pencil drawing: amazing activity and practice
Sketch and draw real things
I’ve noticed that people, who haven’t been using photos as reference for creation of their art initially, develop the ability to draw more effortlessly and it is easier for them to understand the mechanism of capturing something which has volume onto a flat surface. These, who have started out tracing, copying and using somebody else’s drawing, have more difficult times. It’s probably because they don’t trust their eyes, have less confidence and don’t want to take risks or experiment. However, all it takes is seeing your subject in an artistic way. Seeing is the part which many of us are lacking.
Quick marker drawing on shadows
All buildings and one-point perspective drawings are constructed and drawn from imagination, without using any reference.
Constructed one-point perspective drawing, full size 24 x 19 in or 61 x 48 cm
Distorted photo images
I come from a different background; therefore, I simply didn’t have photos and couldn’t take them either. That worked out as an advantage eventually. If you look online at photo images, you cannot help, but notice how distorted they are. That most likely comes from the frequent use of phone cameras and the way perspective, as well as colors are automatically adjusted. What we get, is a profoundly wrong reference which is no good for drawing or painting. If you pay attention to shadows or reflection, solid structures and their dimensions, or for that matter, comparative size of separate parts and their proportion, the absence of correct linear perspective is very notable. If the reflection or shadows stretch for miles, it simply looks wrong. It will be even less acceptable in a painting. The same applies to buildings and street views.
Drawing from pre-pandemic art class, also imagined, constructed drawing, no reference neededDrawing from 2018, 1 point perspective, also just lines and linear perspective
Live art classes
Since private art classes resumed, we’ve done a few drawings, pencil sketches, as well as watercolors and acrylic landscapes. My younger students usually aim for filling up portfolio, therefore, they want to learn about perspective, shadows, direction of light and similar aspects of drawing. That is fantastic because regardless of medium, any more or less realistic art consists of the same parts: composition, linear and atmospheric perspective, values, contrast, light and shadows, as well as size and proportions between parts. It is interesting that younger students eagerly want to learn about perspective, correct proportions, types of shadows and ways to display play of light on their drawings and paintings. One-point perspective is a very good subject for beginners.
Pencil drawing of pears and apples
Painting process simplified
The fastest way to learn about all aspects of a successful painting is using pencil. Pencil drawing allows seeing the essence of your subject easier and in a more impressive manner. Students love the fact that they cannot do drawing wrong, hence, we can erase anything if want to. Pencil drawing is a fantastic pastime for people, who have time, or the best artistic practice and preparation step for artists, established and beginning. It is a calm and soothing activity. There’s no rush as with water-soluble paint which might dry too fast, get tacky and so forth. There are no worries about water flowing where you don’t want it or pigment acting weirdly. Pencil dances on the paper and this allows creating our phantasy or reality. Whichever we choose, we are the winners. Pencil drawing is extremely rewarding in any regard.
Fence drawing is a complete artwork
Mastering drawing
Taking or making time and being observant is difficult for folks nowadays, but drawing requires seeing things which people normally do not notice. This activity makes our world bigger with every single pencil line. Due to preparation work for art classes, as well as the huge time that was necessary for setting up the outdoor classroom, I have not been able to post practically anything on both my blogs. Well, here you have it. My pencil drawings are not done just within a few hours. My drawings are usually large, up to 29 x 22 in or 74 x 56 cm, and they take plenty of time. I would say, to post this article with images which come from different years, and to take and edit current photos, took me at least a month. Many hours go into every single drawing, most often, 20 or more hours for the large ones for sure. However, it is time well spent.
Line drawing, pencil outlines intended for watercolor paintingClose-up view of frut and buildings
Online presentation and new art classes
You will obviously see the small online images. The paper was bright white, yet, it didn’t look that bright on my pictures. Well, it is what it is. Enjoy and join the art classes if you live around Ajax, Ontario:
My other blog is about life and getting the best out of it. Many people who click on “like” from the Reader, do not know I have it, but I write also poetry and stories, about my observations and interesting facts which became notable after many decades. You might like to have a look:
We are born with the ability to draw, but we lose it as we grow up and get older. Many schools disregard manual drawing as unnecessary in the age of coding, digital art and devices that can do everything.
Sometimes, we lose our ability to draw when one compares their drawing with the best possible drawings on the internet and decides that they will never be able to do such a drawing. Therefore, it is easy to give up what did not even get a chance to unfold.
We forget that it is not what some internet sites will tell you: draw like a master in one day. For some unknown reason, it is believed that art does not take numerous hours of practicing and numerous attempts to improve our own results. Nobody becomes a master in one day.
Who can learn drawing?
Most people who have managed to learn manual writing shouldn’t have any problem with drawing also. In order to be able to just look at something and draw it, you must practice. It will not happen right away, and it will not happen on its own.
In fact, to acquire ability to draw, you must exercise your ability to see at first. If you want to see things artistically, you also need to know what to look for and what to pay attention to. We lose our ability to notice things, as well as our ability to maintain focus when we are always distracted by presence and interference of devises.
Don’t be perfectionist
Cravings for perfection can be irresistible; therefore, many people take credits for a drawing which they have simply traced from a photo or printout, reproduced on a larger scale using grid, display on a wall, or photo editing software. I would still suggest: learn manual drawing and don’t depend on devices. Be driven by just the desire to capture your subject.
Drawing is a base for any more or less realistic painting. Painting is drawing with a brush.
What is important when you start drawing?
Draw big: that is the most important part when starting drawing.
Choose big size paper. For beginners, 12 x 16 in (30.5 x 41 cm) is a good size, later go up to 20 x 24 in (51 x 61 cm) or create value drawings as big as your painting is. Even with smaller size paper, draw your subject large. Small things do not allow implementing much of what is important: values, shadows, direction of light and contrast.
In order to show something special that your subject has, you have to stay away from tiny things. Large drawing has also more impact. It is simply much more effective and noticeable.
Best subjects
The absolutely best way to learn about values, shadows, direction of light, contrast, size and shape relationships is starting with still life. Still life can consist of anything: your favorite things, toys, souvenirs, beauty products, food, fruit, vegetables, flowers, dishes, books, clothes, hats, gloves, glasses, interior items and so on. Use your imagination and set up something you like and find interesting.
Fragments of landscape are great. If you are a beginner, choose just a small part of a view.
Buildings and structures are one more extraordinary great thing to draw. They are everywhere, no need to stress out looking for something which is out of your reach. Add fences, fence posts, doors, steps, windows and so on. Perspective is a very important part of such drawings. It is nothing very difficult, but there are things you simply need to know.
Flowers are always easy to find and get, therefore they suit well as subject.
Portrait and figure drawing require a model. Model can be not always available. Reproducing photos does not really make one an artist who can draw human faces and figures, but as a learning exercise it is still fine.
How to start drawing?
We start with exploring our subject visually. We try to look at our subject at least 3 times longer every time than at our paper. Gradually, your hand will do what you want it to do.
At first, we mark up the space with approximate sizes and place approximate shapes.
Try not using eraser until you have established the main shapes and are about to define details.
We always go from abstract to definite and from distant to close, as well as from back to the front if it is a large piece or shows perspective.
Work simultaneously at all parts of drawing until every single part has obtained some definition. Step back and decide what’s to stay, what needs more work and what has to be erased. Clean up unnecessary lines, correct the wrong ones.
How to bring your drawing to a completion stage you want or need
Drawing serves many different purposes.
Drawing as a reminding sketch
Drawing as a reminding sketch is the simplest way to recall view, landscape or interesting detail. For such drawing, only the main lines, shapes and values will do.
Two point perspective drawing
Value drawing for transfer
I have many hundreds of large size value drawingsand sketches. My models can sometimes go bad, such as fruit, vegetables or flowers. For watercolor, we do not want to damage the watercolor paper, and therefore, we improvise and test everything on another (preferably, half transparent) paper. When the subject is complex, or when the potential painting consists of many parts, or these parts must be aligned in a certain accurate way, for instance, in perspective drawing of buildings, street views or complex structures, value drawing is much better reference than any photography.
Such value drawings and sketches can be left unfinished because some parts do not need much work and you can do it directly in painting. We only define more these parts which might be difficult to remember due to unusual shadow play or shape and line relationship.
Drawing practice pieces
To create a quick manual drawing, does not take much time or effort. Focus on something interesting, rather fragment than the entire view or subject. We sometimes want to see whether some part of drawing or painting will work or not. Therefore, we do sketches and drawings of some parts only. That is simply a good practice also. Such drawing can be finished and worked out, or we can leave it at a sketch level.
My drawing of spring lilies for watercolor painting
My drawing of spring lilies for watercolor painting
Standalone drawing as art
Drawing as art which will be potentially framed and hang onto wall or placed in portfolio will require the most time. It will include all aspects of painting, plus line work, nice shadows, strong and zero values, and everything in the middle. It will have good contrast, interesting relationships between parts and more. We will use soft eraser and sometimes stump to spread out graphite dust and create smooth, even coverage of dark areas. We will also use different pencils with different softness grades.
My drawing for watercolor painting, many daffodils, see painting in other posts
My drawings
I usually don’t create just drawings because I probably love color too much. I have many value drawings and sketches, and some are really worked out quite well. I keep them in large 1 meter x 60 cm folders. I can always re-use whatever I like or consider suitable. My drawings are usually large and very large, attached images are up to 51 x 61 cm or 20 x 24 in and larger.
I don’t mind spending time on a manual drawing because that works like a plan for painting. While you draw, you can figure out all accents and contrasts, as well as see how and if your concept even works. I will eventually turn some drawings into paintings.
Any of these drawings might become paintings, this still life drawing is 22 x 29 inches ( 56 x 74 cm)
Everybody can draw
We can draw before we can speak. We can draw even if we cannot speak or express ourselves in writing. We can still draw and recreate memories when everything else is gone from our mind.
Research confirmed that people, who had lost big part of their cognitive function and memory, could clearly remember what they had been drawing many years ago: places, events, occasions and people. They test this at University of Waterloo,, Canada. Researchers also advise people to draw and paint their adventures and life experiences because they will never forget what they created artistically.
Don’t wait: start manual drawing today! I simply would love that everybody experiences the huge pleasure we gain from simply drawing and sketching. Register for my art classes: Registration for art classes
Why should you spend time on value drawing? If you do such drawings large or full painting size, it will take quite a lot of time, from a few hours to a few days. However, these value drawings will be all reference materials you need. I have added many photos of my very large still life drawings, so that you see what I’m talking about.
Drawing for watercolor
I started to do such large size value drawings because my goal was to eventually create a watercolor painting. As you may know, watercolor paper is very fragile and painting does not look good if there are lots of visible pencil marks or even worse. Erasing damages watercolor paper. I do such drawings on tracing paper. That is because I use a specific drawing transfer technique which allows seeing my final drawing very well without applying graphite pencil too much. It saves me work afterwards and prevents my paper from damage.
Large is great
I make these drawings large, to be more exact, the actual painting size. I usually paint full-sheet 22 x 29 inch ( 56 x 74 cm) watercolors, and sometimes a bit smaller acrylics. The drawings shown in my photos are 22 x 29 inches ( 56 x 74 cm) and 20 x 24 inches (46 x 61 cm) .
I usually do these and similar drawings in class, 20 x 24 inches (46 x 61 cm)
Value drawing is a guide and a map
All answers to questions which arise during the painting process are in the value drawing. I love painting from real things as opposed to photos, and if the subject is sensitive, such as flowers, food, fruits, vegetables or moody nature scene, I have to use something which quickly captures the subject. I obviously cannot get done a large painting within a few hours. Therefore, instead of taking photos, I do value drawings and sometimes value sketches.
Camera doesn’t replace visual perception
Partially, I don’t rely on photos since I got my first camera not that long ago and I was very much used to draw everything what other people were taking pictures of. The other aspect to that is the way any camera distorts the subject or view. My eyes perceive it much better than any camera would, and I create a composition on a fly.
Photographic visual memory
I don’t know whether I was born with it or whether I just developed it, but I only found out quite late in my life that I have literary photographic visual memory. I simply did not pay attention to that when I was young.
Advantages of having great visual memory
School was easy for me. I memorized everything extra easy, and I added an analytic approach to memorizing things. I am still able to remember lots of text just by looking at it. That helped me enormously when studying at university. I personally think that my visual memory comes from drawing. I was drawing everything whatever I saw since age I cannot even recall. Parents told me about that. It was a surprise because there were and are no other artists in my family which is actually quite extensive.
Memory can be improved at any age
I do believe and have seen that visual memory can be improved to a great extent. What happens in real life is that people most often don’t use their memory and brain. The more support from devices we have, the less we use our own memory. That is disastrous and leads to early memory loss.
How drawing helps keeping excellent memory
It is obvious that one can have all kinds of reminders and lists on their phone and computer. However, there are people like me who never ever compile a list or use a reminder. I’ve never forgotten any appointment or meeting in my entire life. I never make any lists, neither shopping, nor to-do lists, not even invoicing or student lists. It is all comfortably filed in my head.
My most recent drawing, 20 x 24 inches (46 x 61 cm), it can be used for any painting without any photo reference
The reason I love drawing
I don’t draw to only exercise my memory. I draw and paint also not because of likes or social media comments, followers or any other feedback from fans. I draw and paint because that is my way of life. I live in a visual world where everything is a painting and any view is art. That is the way I see the world and life.
Multiple and various uses of value sketch and value drawing
Having a value sketch or value drawing is of big advantage, not only because you have a perfect reference and guide, but also because you can use this value drawing with any painting media afterwards. You can go ahead and complete it as drawing, pastel painting, transfer to watercolor paper and paint with watercolor, transfer to canvas and paint with acrylics or oils. You can reuse it and flip it, as well. Finally, you can use any part or fragment of value drawing, as well as create a composition which consists of value drawing elements
Any of these drawings might become paintings, this one is 22 x 29 inches ( 56 x 74 cm)
It is a preview
It also serves as a sneak peek. It is clearly visible what works well in your composition and what not that much. Therefore, it is possible to correct everything while you transfer the drawing, so, that you do not have to deal with issues during the painting process.
Test your values
Test your values turning the image of painting into black and white. If it still looks good, your values are correct, and so is the contrast.
Uniqueness of our drawing style
Drawing is like handwriting, and our personal style is like our handwriting. It carries the specific features of our character, nature and mental abilities. It is possible to describe one’s nature by simply looking at their drawing. It is and it should be unique. Don’t trace photos, it is so much more rewarding to simply look around and see.
Still life is beautiful and teaches all drawing aspects
You don’t draw because you haven’t tried to do it right
When somebody says: I cannot draw, that actually means they are not interested in seeing the surroundings or the subject. How much one has noticed becomes only visible when we ask that person to draw it. While everybody is under impression that we can see everything, that is not true. You will only start seeing what is around you if you will try to draw it: all shapes and shadows, and relationships between lines.
Whatever we can see, we can draw
It does not necessarily have to be a real thing. You can see and imagine with your internal vision, and that should work as if drawing from reality. You build up the directions for your hand in your brain. If you are not trying to challenge yourself, your hand will create inaccurate and sloppy lines. In order the hand would draw what we are seeing, we pretty much have to become that particular subject in your imagination: the tree, the apple, the blossom and even the bowl, and even more so if you are drawing a figure or face. That is why most artists are quite recognizable from portraits they paint: all of them carry some features of the artist. Confidence is a big deal, too, and we can become confident only by doing.
These are only lines on paper, but what fantastic illusion of an attractive, appealing and impressive reality they create!
