Anyone Can Draw: Yes, Even You! - Wandering Leaves Studio

Drawing? In a Nature Journal? ‘But, I can’t draw!’ I have but one main thing to say about drawing, and I believe it to my core, . . . everyone can learn to draw.

Busting the Myth: Inborn Talent and Drawing

Artists are just born that way. They have some big advantage of being born with the genetic predisposition to be good at drawing. Which gene sequence was that? I forgot. Oh, that’s right, there isn’t one!

Joking and sarcasm aside, I do really believe that anyone can learn to draw. I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it. I will say that some people get a bit of a head start. However, it’s because they are handed a crayon when they are toddlers, and never put it down. They graduate from crayons to pencils and paint. Drawing and painting are favorite activities all through their lives. But here’s the thing — they are better simply because they’ve had more practice time than you!

Honestly, I believe this to be true of many things in life. Good guitar players live with their guitars in their hands; their fingers bloody and calloused from the hours of practice. A sweater gets knit one ugly stitch at a time. That one perfect cake is baked over and over until it is perfected. Musicians make music, knitters knit, bakers bake. You get better at drawing, . . . by drawing.

My Drawing Story

I was the crayon kid. I have always loved to draw and color. Even though I did pretty well in school, I hated it. The part I loved? Shopping for school supplies at the end of summer. I remember that wonderful, brand-new box of crayons I got every year. Oh, I can be transported in time in an instant by the smell of a new box of crayons even today!

My childhood inspired original drawing “potential”
made with colored pencils on black paper

As I got a bit older, I graduated to pencils. (My mother was not a fan of messes, so paint was not part of the equation.) I copied pictures from magazines. I stumbled upon shading with my fingers. My brother and I held ‘drawing contests’ where we took turns thinking of an object to doodle, then argued about who did a better drawing! (I was better at realism; he was better at cartoon-style illustration.)

Then came adulting — sigh, . . . a ‘real’ job, a marriage, a child. The only things I drew now were silly doodles with my daughter.

Kids grow, lives change. When my daughter turned 16, she got a job and I took drawing classes at a local art center. I was scared and shaky walking into that first class! What if I was too rusty? I was certain that I would be terrible at this, but I wanted it so badly, I gave it a shot.

, . . . and that is where I had an amazing instructor who took me back to the beginning and the basics that are common to all drawings.

Drawing Skills: Begin at the Beginning

Do you believe yet? Are you at least beginning to believe that you can learn to draw? If you’re still not convinced, take a few minutes and watch these two TED talks: ‘Why People Believe They Can’t Draw’ and ‘It’s Easy to Draw! Why is it Hard to Draw?’

I love what Michael Rastovich said. (His video is linked above.) You start with one line. You don’t move on to the second line until the first one is correct. That’s a great truth. You learn to walk before you run. Begin at the beginning. It’s when we try to draw something complex without taking those first baby steps that makes us think we stink at drawing.

So, where is the beginning? My art instructor started beginners off with understanding and using our drawing tools, moving through value studies, shapes and shading; and only after we had a handle on these basic exercises, did we move on to working on a complete drawing of our choosing. I believe it’s the perfect start.