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In a recent post, I expounded on one very good reason for drawing, but it occurs to me that I haven’t fully explored the many and varied reasons why people put pen to paper.
As with most things in life, I’d expect that most people who draw regularly have not just one clear reason, but a […]

When I was a life model, I earned the princely sum of £6.00 per hour, and I am sure the rate has gone up since then. Some serious artists used to book me to model for them alone; more often I’d be modelling for a class, and my pay would be made up from everyone’s […]

 
Things Fall Apart by Martin Symons
 
I guess our parents just hammered the lesson home a little too firmly: we don’t draw on walls. Well, of course we don’t. It costs money to paint and decorate, so naturally we want it to stay nice. Here’s a question, though: could it look that little bit nicer, and […]

Being a parent may be the perfect excuse for not finding any time to draw, but it’s certainly beneficial for the artist in one way. Artists should keep an eye open for other people’s work, including the latest trends in illustration or fine art - and there’s one place where you can’t avoid doing just […]

Early this morning I got a head start (heh) on my Draw Anyway post when I snaffled a seat near the back of the bus and started drawing people’s hair. Sitting behind your subject is ideal for this task, for a few reasons:
> They don’t know what you’re doing.
> You can get an unimpeded view […]

This shouldn’t be a problem for the average, busy Draw Anyway reader: after a long day of work or child-care or whatever else takes up most of your time, the chances are that you haven’t got much energy left for thinking out a well-planned picture. So the idea is to see what comes out if […]

Next time you find yourself waiting somewhere uninspiring - in a carpark, say, or at your office window, looking at a view you’ve seen a million times before, ask yourself what you would draw from it if you had to.
It’s easy to dismiss a concrete landscape or an over-familiar vista, but there is always […]

 
As you’ll know if you have read the About page on Draw Anyway, one of the biggest reasons I found myself not drawing any more was that I had become a parent. The constant attention that a child needs just doesn’t fit with the concentration needed for proper artwork. And so Draw Anyway was born, […]

I met someone recently who used to work as an illustrator for an advertising agency back in the Sixties. He’d turn up for work at nine in the morning, and spend the day churning out pictures of consumer goods such as kettles, sofas, and battery rechargers.
Did he ever stop to think about his technique, whether […]

This may be the ultimate in Draw Anyway technique: it’s multi-tasking taken to its extreme. So all you have the energy to do when you get home after work is lounge in front of the telly? Join the club, I know exactly how you feel.
But if you have it in you to pick up […]