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I have a tonne of life-drawing in my sketchbook waiting to be scanned. Save that for the weekend.

Music by Reuben Kee

A lot of influences floating around in these – Iron Man, Samurais, Roman soldiers, Japanese robots… You get the idea.

The images are pretty large, in fact this whole blog is image heavy – So get a bigger monitor and faster connection because I’m not shrinking these anymore

Couple of quick ones from life drawing at Art House.

You, your personality, your individuality come first. Your pictures are your by-product. Everything about your pictures is, and should be, a little of you. They will be a reflection of your knowledge, your experience, your observation, your likes and dislikes, your good taste and your thinking.

As a student I thought there was a formula of some kind that I would get hold of somewhere and thereby become an artist. There is a formula but is has not been in books. It is really plain old courage, standing on one’s own feet and forever seeking enlightenment; courage to develop your way, but learning from the other fellow; experimentation with your own ideas, observing for yourself, a rigid discipline of doing over that which you can improve. I have never found a book that stressed the importance of myself as the caretaker of my ability, of staying healthy mentally and physically, or that gave me an inkling that my courage might be strained to the utmost

Andrew Loomis - Figure Drawing for all it’s Worth

An extract from a great book I’ve been checking out, definitely giving me a lot to ponder. I’ve known for a long time my drawings lack ‘personality’, in the past drawing has been more of a cathartic experience, more about enjoying the process rather than what is produced or the expression of ideas.

Anyway, the extract isn’t just related to drawing. If you substitute the subject matter with any discipline that you’re passionate about, it rings very true.

It may sound like a bunch of artsy fartsy romanticism, but I think that where Loomis speaks of courage, he’s really talking about the discipline, desire and dedication required to achieve mastery in any field – music, sport, whatever.

It’s not easy to spend 10,000 productive hours on something challenging. That being said, I better get back to it.

Trying to get used to sketching in photoshop with the Wacom – It’s been a while. The slippery feeling of the tablet is good in a way, forcing me to loosen my lines and make mistakes. Sometimes when I draw I get this nagging perfectionism that creeps up and grips me. I suspect most artists get this.

Took about 45 mins.