The art of practice

Drawing a dog for my mother-in-law as a Christmas gift made me ponder the idea of drawing the same thing all over again. I remember Koosje Koene saying in one of her videos that people who watch her draw believe it comes naturally to her. In reality, however, drawing confidently took her years of practice. In the same video, Koosje recalls painting a portrait of a friend for her birthday and shows how many drawings she had to do before she was satisfied with the final result.

As a beginner, I don’t give myself many chances to practice drawing one thing. I usually fell victim to the typical amateur mindset: either I draw something and am okay with the outcome, or despise it and vow never to draw another horse or bicycle again. However, being patient and committing to practicing drawing and experimenting really yields better results. Look at that dog I drew in the first and last images.

When practicing drawing, I also need to know when to stop and be happy with the end result, but that’s a topic for another post…