Daily drawing is an essential to help you grow and learn as an artist. If you draw something daily, you will find over a period of time that your ability to see shapes and translate them onto paper will have dramatically increased. You will draw more quickly and more efficiently and will render what you see much better.

The traditional drawing class uses real objects to draw from, not references. To study an object in front of you shows you a 3 dimensional image whereas in a reference photo it is one dimensional. The benefits to drawing from life are enormous and so rewarding.

This weekly sketching challenge is designed to encourage people to sketch more quickly, to sketch outside and to sketch in public.

Now here is the meat of the thread. This is a list of objects that you may choose to draw from.

You can choose one thing or 10 things.
They must be sketched from life, not imagination or photographs.
You can use any medium that you like.
When you've drawn your image, then post it here.
You have 7 days to draw items from this list.
There will be no commenting on sketches.

Venus has kindly provided the list for this week. Thanks Venus.

1. a table
2. a vehicle parked in your driveway
3. a tape dispenser
4. a pencil sharpener
5. a glass vase
6. a television
7. a candle holder
8. a hair brush or comb
9. a couch
10. a dining room chair
11. a computer chair
12. a shelf with knick knacks
13. a box
14. a brown paper bag (slightly crumbled)
15. a book
16. a tube of lipstick or toothpaste
17. a camera
18. a computer mouse
19. a picture frame
20. a stove or refrigerator

great list-- i think i already have a couple of them!!
Lori

I've managed to squeeze in a couple today. I'll post them later when I get the scanner to cooperate.

Ok, the scanner cooperated.

Here are a few of the items. Pencil sharpener and camera on the first sketch and picture frame on the second. They were done with mechanical pencil in a Moleskine notebook.

[attachmentid=881] [attachmentid=882]

great job jeanette. i will get mine posted soon.
Lori

very nice IslanderNL like them

Well, here is my sad little pencil sharpener and the built in case in the dining room. It covers the shelf with knick knacks, vase, book, and candle holder.

It is so much easier to draw from pictures... I need a lot of practice for life sketches.

And here's my mouse.

great job cyn. now i have to get busy and get some posted.
Lori

Hi,
Camera, computer mouse, sewing table recycled into media shelf, dining room chair and veiw out back yard from last week. Jeanette this is a great idea. I obviously need the practice "seeing" and translating that to paper. My back yard looks out onto the woods, not only are there trees out there, half of the trees are canted at odd angles. There is also a lot of new growth. There are at least three or four huge trees that have fallen over. One fell the other night, I was sure that it hit the house, I had to go out and look around. The next morning I saw that it was about one hundred feet out into the woods. Did you know that most trees fall at night? (in my experience) I am afraid that the developer of our area was a butcher when he came in. Some trees have fallen because of this and some have fallen because of vines killing them over years and eventually there is nothing left to hold it up. Anyways, my view was much to complicated so I reverted to scribbles which is what it looked like when you tried to see how everything related to each other.
Paulette[attachmentid=910][attachmentid=911]

Paulette, that was really good. You drew lot's o' stuff. I have a really hard time drawing from life. It looks like my grand kids did it all. Hey.. Maybe I can blame it on them.
I try to sketch but if I don't go way to fast, I get caught up in the detail and then it looks like a first grader did it. I really need to try and find time to practice, practice, practice. Just like everyone says. Holidays, grand kids and life just keeps me so busy that I barely manage to draw when everyone is in bed and I keep dozing off looking at my sketch pad. It does tend to make pencil marks all the was across the paper when you fall asleep.

Great sketches Cyn. I especially like the shelf and the details of the items on it. Yep, I hear you about falling asleep over the sketchpad...done that too.

Wonderful work Paulette. Seems like your view out your backdoor is similar to mine with all those trees. So far my trees are staying upright!

Sketching every day really does improve your drawing skills over time. You'll soon notice that you'll draw quicker and with more confident strokes as well as seeing the objects shapes more easily.

You are sure right about the drawing skills, Jeanette.. Yesterday I wouldn't have touched a flower and now I posted it twice. LOL I love the challenges and the weekly list because there are things I just wouldn't have thought of drawing. Besides, there are some things that I THOUGHT I couldn't draw and I now KNOW that I can't draw them. I will keep at them though until I can.

Oh, wow! these are great, everybody!

Cyn, there's nothing wrong with your drawings! Nothing at all!

Paulette, you must have done nothing but draw for a couple of days! Well done. Too bad about your trees, bet that really ruins your view. Ya done good with both of your posts!


Jeanette, I expected no less from you. I particularly like the angle of the camera.

Well, guess I gotta get busy, huh?

J

wow great job everyone. paulette you are really good at sketching. well here are some of mine. i have been so busy this week but managed to get a few in. tv/entertainment center, mouse and stove and i decided to do the bananna's that was on the counter, the kitchen chair looks a bit scarey. i dont think anyone wants to sit in that one but my real one dont look so bad, trust me.
Lori

Wow yourself, Lori, you busy little beaver. You did great on a lot of stuff. I didn't get that much done. I am trying to draw grapes for the drawing challenge but so far they look like raisins. Flowers and plants are not my forte'. Hmmmm I don't even think I have a forte' yet. LOL

thanks cyn-- you do a great job too. you will find your forte, mine certainly isnt flowers or plants either. venus is the great one in that catagory.
Lori

Hi everyone :]

I looked at all of the drawings and everything I saw was very nice... I tried the pencil shrpener, it got a little twisted but not too bad. anyway, I don't no if I put too much effort to it (after all, it is a sketch) so please tell me.

have a nice day
Nitsan.[attachmentid=936]

Nice pencil sharpener, nitsan.

Here's my book.

Thanks for joining in Nitsan, great to see you here.

Sketches are simply little snippets of subjects captured in time. They are all wonderful and all unique. The more you do, the better you get too. Its magical!

I tend to spend hours and hours trying to get every detail correct on my drawings and people say - you draw sketch something and I cant I just have that freedom in my mind so I think I will take your advice and try to do some and see if the more I do the better I get

Maurice

thanks, Cyn.
I like your book, too. It looks familiar. I think I read it once or twice