At last I’ve found the time to actually begin the first proper exercise of the course. I used a graphite block to draw the kitchen utensils I had chosen. I did enjoy using the graphite block and found it easier to control as it was bigger in my hand than a pencil. This created a nice feeling! At first I found myself trying to constantly correct my drawing with an eraser, before I ‘allowed’ myself to relax into the exercise, and stopped using it. I used a combination of sweeping strokes and lines, as well as little short strokes using minimum pressure. The graphite went onto the paper easily and very satisfactorily.

When I moved onto the left hand exercise, I found I automatically wanted to work from left to right, as I would when writing, and at first couldn’t work out how to actually put the graphite on the paper! I found that I had to start from a different perspective and from a different point on the paper entirely – in effect work in reverse, which I suppose makes sense. I had to use even less pressure using my left hand as the tendency was to try to control the strokes even more than the right hand.

I liked the way I relaxed into the exercise, although I was extremely apprehensive because I have never considered myself able to draw. At times I lost myself in concentration trying to ‘get it right’. However, once I relaxed I just accepted the drawings for what they were and didn’t judge them.

I then moved onto using a paintbrush and ink. This was much more challenging! I had to use different techniques, such as lighter pressure, smoother longer strokes and keeping the brush on the paper instead of lifting it. The tools I had chosen were not easy to reproduce either. But I liked the way the ink worked on the paper, and the smoothness of the mark it made. I found myself automatically holding the brush higher ip the handle that I did when using the graphite and using a lighter touch. I wasn’t happy using my left hand with the paintbrush tool. I found myself doing short strokes using jerky movements, which created a feathered effect on the paper and I felt less in control of the image I was trying to copy.

Continuous Line Drawing …..

I found this extremely challenging – I had been putting this exercise off as I had found the previous sketching difficult. This was the same! This confronted my fear of ‘getting it wrong’ and “you’re no good at this”. I even found it scary! I know that this is how I feel a lot of the time in life – scared of making mistakes and looking like an idiot. But who’s going to judge me for this? Only myself. I totally get why these exercises are part of the course; it takes you out of your comfort zone. I even found myself flicking through the work book to find our when I actually get to work with fabric – my comfort zone!

But ….. I did it, and it wasn’t too bad. I can’t say I actually enjoyed it, but I did it. The main thing I found was that although I’m really scrutinising the object that I’m sketching, I still get the scale completely wrong and miss out crucial details of the object. The lesson for me here is to look more carefully and take my time. Because I wanted to be finished as quick as possible, I rushed it!

Drawing Blind …..

This was also difficult for me – I had to really fight the urge to look down, but I was fairly pleased with the result. Again, I was keen to ‘get it over with’, but I did quite enjoy it, and after the five minutes was up, I felt as if I could have gone on for longer.

Memory Drawing …..

I found this easier, as it made me draw on my own memory, and I felt less pressure to exactly recreate the image. Of all the exercises I have done today – this was my favourite. I also had a go at drawing from memory with my eyes closed. I didn’t like this feeling of not being in control!