THE FOUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF A

CREATIVE DRAWING PRACTICE

ONE
Honor and Appreciate the Moment in Time and Your Tools and Materials

Our tools for a creative drawing practice are simple: an exquisite piece of paper, an assortment of drawing tools such as pencils, colored pencils, markers, and ink, and a few other miscellaneous supplies. This book is organized into three sections—Graphite, Colored Pencil, and Ink—of seven lessons each. At the beginning of each section is a thorough inventory of the tools you’ll need and lots of advice on selecting the materials that will make your explorations fun and successful. No matter your budget, there are beautiful tools waiting to be discovered. In each section, we learn how to choose our tools and how to care for them, with this in mind: quality over quantity and less is more. Simplicity of and familiarity with our tools allow freedom of expression, without the confusion of wondering which materials to choose each time we sit down to create.

Over time, I’ve learned valuable lessons about where to spend a little more money and where I can be thriftier when it comes to art supplies. I’ll share these tips with you! But, mostly, what I wish to impart is the idea that our tools are an extension of our head, hands, and heart. Each time we sit down to create, we can take a quiet moment to give thanks for the beautiful materials before us. It’s also important to acknowledge the moment in time, to take a few deep, cleansing breaths, and to leave our expectations and stress behind. The time we spend drawing can be meditative and nourishing to our spirit. We must choose to be present and engaged in the act of using our beautiful materials to express something unique to each of us. We will learn more about this in each lesson along the way.

TWO
Show Up Every Day

Our creative practice has the potential to become a companion that can help us through many difficulties. It is a steadfast and intimate friend that will nurture us even if we only have a handful of minutes to spend each day. Some lessons can be completed in 15 minutes or less, while others can be worked on in small increments of time over several days. The magical part is, the less time we know that we need to commit, the more likely we are to stick with it. As days go on, we naturally find ourselves desiring more time in our daily lives for our creative practice. It feeds us in ways we never imagined. Art-making can become a vital component of our everyday lives, but only if we show up daily to take part in it.

So, let’s keep it real and simple. I’m asking you to commit to at least 15 minutes a day as you work your way through these lessons. If you have more time, great! When you have completed the twenty-one lessons in this book, you can begin again and attend to each lesson with new, more experienced eyes and hands. These lessons are meant to be fresh each time we engage in them. It’s remarkable, really. I can teach these lessons to twenty-five people and there are never two results alike—and yet they are all beautiful and harmonious. Why is that?

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Your unique way of seeing and experiencing the world and events around you is one of your most important, even sacred, possessions. These lessons are designed with that in mind. The colors you choose and the marks you create will be yours—and yours alone. There is no room to compare what you create to any specific example; my samples for each lesson are meant only as a guide to teach you techniques and process, not as something to copy. We each bring forth what is ours alone. This is the quality that makes art ART.

Give yourself plenty of time and space to begin again and again, if you choose. There are no mistakes when creating from these lessons. If you’re like me, you’ll have some lessons that feel amazing and some that feel average, but they’re all immensely important as part of your creative journey. Each will have its own kind of gratification and will bring joy and a moment of respite and calm to your daily life.

One thing we must be aware of is our inner critic. As a teacher, I see many students make critical statements about their work and I gently remind them it’s just one day among many, one lesson among many. We can choose to see our drawings with fresh, childlike eyes of wonder, or with the harsh eyes of our inner critic. I choose to see with wonder, and I hope you do the same.

THREE
Setting Your Intentions, Inspiration, and Two-Fold Joy

Every time we show up for our creative drawing practice, we have an opportunity to set our intention and take inspiration from a source of beauty. There are so many sources to choose from: art, guided meditations, inspirational literature, music, nature, poetry, and other beautiful art, such as decks like intuitive oracle cards, social media accounts of people that inspire you, and more.

The most important thing to inspire us, however, is right within our hearts: the capacity for two-fold joy. First is the joy we receive from the simple act of putting our mark to paper and watching the page bloom as we create something beautiful and unique. Second is the joy we give to someone else by sharing our creations or sending them to someone who might need a bit of joy, too. I liken two-fold joy to dandelions—a bright, cheerful flower that’s prolific and shares its seeds freely on the wind. That’s the spirit of sending out two-fold joy. We can think of these lessons as “Dandelion Lessons” to help us visualize this important component of our creative practice.

Let’s talk about different sources of inspiration and how we might use them. At the beginning of each session, I unwrap my tools and arrange them on the table. Sometimes I light a candle; sometimes I dab a bit of aromatic oil on my fingertips and rub my hands together near my face while taking deep and calming breaths. Then, I sit for a moment and set my intentions for my practice. Almost always it’s a simple, yet profound, wish for peace to all living things.

Depending on the day, I may have chosen a favorite book of poetry or another inspirational book with short pieces of writing within. I randomly open the book to a page and try to take away one word that depicts the essence my reading. I find that focusing on one word is a wonderful way to breathe more meaning into my practice and, often, I’ll write that word somewhere on the finished drawing. Other days, I might play some music I love and let the sounds and rhythms carry my pen or pencil along, or I might enjoy a guided mediation. Sometimes I look at a beautiful book of artwork by an artist I admire, and sometimes I look at some treasures from the natural world I have brought home from a recent walk. Almost always I shuffle my deck of oracle cards and select one to flavor my session of intuitive painting. And some days I just close my eyes, take a few mind-clearing breaths, and simply begin to paint. These are just a few examples of things you might explore to center yourself and bring elements of inspiration to each lesson. They are optional, yet delightful, additions.

FOUR
Scatter Your Joy Far and Wide

After enjoying your creative practice for a while, you’ll create a lovely stack of drawings and . . . you’ll wonder what to do with them. Our natural desire is to share them with others, but we might feel shy to let anyone see our work. I have come to learn that this is unfounded; think of how you would feel if you received a hand-drawn postcard in the mail. It would make you feel special because someone thought of you and took the time to send you such a treasure.

A big part of these lessons is sending some of your work to others. You can either wrap it and give it as a gift or slip it into an envelope and send it in the mail. You can even send it anonymously. I have one student who sends her tiny paintings in a bundle to the local children’s hospital to be given to children there who might need a smile.

This is one way we can share two-fold joy. Another way, and just as important, is sharing your creative practice with others by teaching them the benefits you have received and encouraging them to begin their practice. Can you imagine a world in which every person has the comfort and joy of art-making in their daily lives? I believe the world would be a kinder, gentler place if all people had the opportunity to create beauty and spread joy.

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