CLUE: CHAIR
Deadline: March 28, 2021

How To: Develop your Artist Eye!

Observation is one of your best tools for becoming a better drawer. To improve your drawing skills, you should be looking at your subject almost more than you are looking at your drawing on your paper.

Try these drawing exercises to improve your Artist Eye.

Draw an image upside-down. No, not while standing on your head. Try this exercise by drawing from a photo. You will need a paper, pencil and a photograph of your subject matter. Turn the photograph upside down, now draw exactly what you see. When the image is upside down, it is harder to make sense of the subject, you can’t draw what you think you are looking at. You are drawing more abstract lines and shapes – you are looking and studying your subject more closely. When you finish drawing the upside-down image, turn your drawing the right side up and take a look. You will have a pretty accurate drawing in front of you, and you will think WOW!
Draw every day. Even if it is just for 5 or 10 minutes, sketch in your journal or notebook. For drawing 1, set up a still life and draw. You may want to date your drawings and after a few months, go back and set up that same still life and draw it again. See how you have improved. WOW!
Draw the weird and unusual. Draw the same exact abstract lines and shapes in the box next to each drawing. There are no recognizable subjects in the illustrated boxes, so you have to use your artist eye to observe and draw exactly what you see. I have these old building toys with twisted and blobby shapes that I assemble and draw, which I have drawn here for you. Now go and observe and WOW yourself!