Yesterday, I talked about my rest of the year goals. The one I am finding most challenging to comprehend for a daily habit is drawing. Because it is more active than the others. I have to actually remember to make a drawing everyday. Then, I have to actually pick up paper and pencil. Next, I have to find an inspiration to draw. And then, to actually do the drawing. 

So here is the sequence: Remember-Find Materials-Find inspiration-Draw.

I have to simplify my process right at the beginning. Because, before I get into it and become ambitious with fancy long drawings, or big scale drawings, I have to make sure I am into it. And to get into it, it has to happen on a regular basis. Once I am feeling warm with a regular practice, I know I will want to do bigger better things and spend more time on it. 

But for now, small and simple will do the trick. 

So, how do I make the small and simple happen for me in this case? 

Remember

I will have to find a time when I am usually not rushing to any next thing, and can maybe replace my phone time with drawing time? I am thinking after lunch when I am still finishing my second coffee, taking 10-15 minutes to draw would be a great idea. That way, I have a fixed time (most days) to get it done. And it will help me not waste my time from doom scrolling. Also, it could work as a warmup for my studio practice because I get to my studio right after lunch! I will give this a try, and see how this time works for me. 

Weekends are trickier because we are all over the place without a strict routine. I want to keep the stakes lower on the weekend if I want to keep my practice sustainable. So a simple blind or contour drawing, with my morning coffee, and I will call it done.

Find Materials

To stay in the simple mindset, I am going to stick with one sketchbook and good old pencil. No changing up sizes and paper kinds for now. I have this said sketchbook and a pencil on the table on my side of the couch- nice and handy. So finding it and picking it up should be easy. I eat in my backyard most summer afternoons…so I will just bring it along when I take my lunch outside. I also have a travel sketchbook that I can carry in my bag if I am not around any day.

Find Inspiration

I find this the hardest step! It’s the same old conundrum…what do I draw today?! Hmmm…I think I will just have to pick something beforehand for best results. I know I chicken out from drawing because I don’t have any ideas of what to draw most times. So for a lack of inspiration to be the reason for my downfall in having a regular drawing practice, I just have to keep my eyes open for inspiration, and pick one either earlier in the day, or the day before. I will also make a note of it as a text sent to myself so I don’t conveniently forget and have an excuse. Maybe, even starting a digital list of ideas as I see them or get inspired by some object would be a good idea. Of course, if I see something amazing that I want to draw right then, who’s stopping me, right? I can always change my mind, as long as I draw something.

Draw

When I have the time, and materials, and inspiration, I think just drawing it would be an easy thing to do. I may experiment with a timer (for 10 minutes I think) to start with and see how I like that. I may also have a podcast running on my phone to start my practice to keep my mind from complaining about how hard or boring it is. I do this while painting when the going is hard, and it works out beautifully!

Accountability

So now that I have all the steps laid out, and I have thought about how to make it easy for myself to actually draw, I want to have a place to publish my drawings (the good, the bad and the ugly) just so I feel that extra compelling in me to make the effort. I used to publish my drawings under the hashtag “Mondaydrawingsroundup” on Instagram every Monday. They would include my drawings from the previous week. I think I will start doing this again. And it will also give me one easy post for the week. Knowing that my drawings need to go public, I will have no choice but to make them…right? Or so I hope!

I am happy I made this plan as I was typing this blog post. Now I just need to execute. I am excited, and I know I love drawing. And I know how good it is for my art practice.

So wish me luck?