drawanyway.com

If you had to tell a story with pictures, the chances are your first thought would be to do so with a sequential series - perhaps even a comic strip. But stories can be told with a single picture. It’s kind of killing me that the best example I can think of is the work of Jack Vettriano (you know, waiters waltzing on the sand), because I know he’s not that well-regarded amongst the art cognoscenti, but there you have it. His pictures tend to ask the viewer questions, encourage you to piece together a story to explain all the elements.

It’s quite a fun thing to make images that way, as well. You can ask the questions and also answer them, if you put some thought into it. Imagine, for example, a room where the furniture is upside down, a plate has been thrown across the room, and the curtains have been torn from their windows. What has caused such devastation? The answer is up to you. Will you draw a cat, scampering out of the room? Or perhaps a ‘dear John’ note on the mirror.

Perhaps even more fun is not to answer the questions, but to leave them open. If something puzzles you in real life, draw it, and let others share your questioning. I’ve done this to a small extent in the picture above.

On another note: today is my birthday! If you’d like to show your appreciation, let me suggest a few ways for you to pick from. :D

• Write a guest post for Draw Anyway. You don’t have to be a skilled artist to do this, you can write about not being able to draw and accompany it with an example if you like. Just contact me or leave a comment below.
• Link to Draw Anyway from any online presence you have, or leave a comment in a relevant forum about us. Spread the Draw Anyway word.
• Encourage your friends and colleagues to visit or subscribe to the feeds (Live Journal readers, a syndicated presence can be found here).
• Leave a comment on a Draw Anyway post. Better still, leave a comment with a picture in it. Could be today, could be tomorrow, could just be a decision to do it next time the post particularly grabs you.
• Vote for me, of course, on the Brighton Web Awards site, or, if you already have, ask your mum, sister, boyfriend and pet to do the same.
• Visit the recommended books page, click through to Amazon, and buy yourself a book (it doesn’t have to be one of the recommended ones). I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you.
• Make a donation. But please only do this if you are pretty sure you have more money to spare than I do.

Have a nice day - I will !