Wanna hear a secret?

You can learn to draw.

If you have the desire.

A lot of people tell me they can’t draw, and I once believed the same about myself. I wanted to try but was terrified I didn’t have “the gift.” 

You’ve heard it before, any kid can create. But then what happens?

“Every child is an artist.” Picasso said, “The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

As a child I loved to draw, but there came a point when playful creativity wasn’t enough. I became self-conscious about my drawings, suddenly seeing imperfections. But I had no idea how to improve. 

Did you have a frustrating experience, like me? Like me, did you come to believe you couldn’t draw? 

That was the exact time you and I needed someone to come alongside and teach us the skills necessary to draw with accuracy. No one came alongside me. How about you?

My mom once told me about a tutorial she saw, when she was young, in a newspaper. You’ve probably seen something like it, a cartoon overlaid with a square grid and instructions to draw what was in each square. It read, “If you can draw this, you can be an artist.”   

Statements like this perpetuate the idea that only some people are gifted in drawing. 

I bought the lie that art was only for the chosen few.

Years after I’d accepted this as truth, I became friends with an artist. And one day, after seeing her work, I tried to draw again.

I’d lost a decade of developing as an artist. Because of a lie. 

I still don’t see myself as naturally gifted, but I do have a desire to create beauty.

A desire to express the breathtaking wonders I witness.

A desire to help you see that through practice, you can learn to draw.  

Will you join me? Will you set aside experiences that have limited you and try again? If you have a child in your life who is at that point of being frustrated with their drawing, will you come alongside and offer encouragement?  

I invite you to carve out time to do this At Home Art Class. 

The image is especially fitting – a bird in winter, the hope of spring. 

Don’t worry about making mistakes, enjoy stretching yourself and seeing what you can do!

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Whoever wrote that newspaper tutorial did have one thing right, drawing with a grid is a great confidence booster. 

The grid I’m going to show is more organic, allowing you to see the image as a whole. It’s a good tool for seeing the relationships of shapes.

Ready? Grab a ruler, paper, and a pencil, and work through the instructions in the slideshow below. Your drawing will turn out best if you use a 2B pencil, but even if you don’t have all the materials I suggest, go ahead and give it a try. 

Materials: ruler, paper, 2B pencil, 4B pencil, Kneaded eraser

Step 1

Start by drawing a rectangle 21cm by 25 cm. (8 4/16 x 9 14/16 inches) Make your grid – draw the diagonal lines first, and then line the edge of your ruler up with the sides of your page to draw the intersecting lines, making sure all lines pass through the centre point. Don’t worry if it’s not exactly perfect. Start putting in the lines of the drawing, paying careful attention to where one shape is, compared to another. Focus on the spaces between shapes and the distance between a shape and the gridline.

Step 2

Start blocking in your dark values with your 2B pencil. Notice how the bird is already taking shape.

Step 3

Press a bit harder with your 2B pencil, or use a 4B pencil to create more contrast of light and dark, then add details to the feathers and branches. I used a putty eraser to lift out the lighter parts of the feathers. I shaped the edge of the eraser into a small, thin ridge, then carefully dragged in along the lighter spaces. You may want to try that on a separate piece of paper first. Create a shaded area, then try lifting out lines of white. Add detail to the branches.

Step 4

Fill in the bottom branches. I didn’t draw them earlier because I didn’t want to accidentally smudge my drawing. Then lightly shade the background with the side of your pencil. This makes the bird stand out. Sign your name and display your drawing.

No matter what your drawing looks like, congratulate yourself for taking a step of courage. Find what you do like about it.

I’d love to see your finished product. Snap a photo and send it to me at charityleejennings@outlook.com And share your story of learning to draw, in the comments below.

I love seeing birds through barren branches, and hearing their song, the hope of spring. 

My drawing is adapted from a book by an author I love. I read his books as a child, then read them again to my own children. 

(Drawing adapted from The Burgess Bird Book for Children, by Thornton W. Burgess, with illustrations by Louis Agassiz Fuertes)

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