I wish I could draw

     I was talking to my Mom a few months back, she and my sister had started taking watercolor classes. She was telling me that she was frustrated that she couldn't draw that well. And that she wished she had the ability that I had to draw.. I told her that she does have the ability, she just needs to practice. I find it funny how many people think that artists just pick up a pencil and magic just flows from it, it doesn't work that way.. A runner wouldn't expect to run a 20 mile marathon if they never trained. They train and run smaller marathons, building up to the big one. An artist needs to do the same thing, they need to draw... A LOT. There will be many bad drawing some good and even a few amazing drawings. But you need to train you hands to move the pencil. You need to train your eyes to see what is really there and how to make it look like that on paper. I draw everyday, some of the drawings are for work and some are for me and the more I do it the better I get. I have my old sketchbooks and occasionally I will take them out just to see how far I have come.

      I have a theory that most people can draw, but what they don't do is draw.. They are so intimidated by the blank sheet of paper, that they never begin.. So don't be afraid of the paper, when you get it, scribble on it.. Now does the scribble look like anything? See if you can make the scribble become something.. Or maybe you will work better taking out a simple object ( like a piece of fruit or a cup) and drawing it again and again.. you will see with each drawing you are getting better and better at making it look like what you want or even get it to look like what it is..

So do it, pick up a pencil or marker or crayon and just start. You can draw, you just have to try.