Why Do We Stop Drawing?

 We've got our friends with their four young children staying with us at the moment, and when I got up this morning I couldn't get any breakfast for a while because they were all drawing and colouring in on the dining room table. Children love to draw and paint and their creativity is unlimited. But as adults we get scared of putting pencil to paper, and say "I can't even draw a stick man!"


So why and when does this love of drawing fade out of our lives?  

Is it when we are told in school that we are no good at art? Or do we loose our drawing inhibitions during our teenage years when we try to become just like all our friends? Or are we afraid of what other people will say about our pictures?


Whatever the reason is, it often takes a long time for adults to begin to paint again, or even to get get the desire to paint in the first place. But with gentle encouragement and a few helpful tips, we can all recover the joy of creating a painting, just like when we were young.

Artists Create Giant Portraits on Live Grass

Just came across this and thought you might like it. Get the lawnmowers out!

Ackroyd & Harvey. Myles, Basia, Nath and Alesha, four panels, 3.8 m x 1.7 m, The Big Chill Festival, Eastnor Castle, England. 2007

For the next 7 days (ending July 20th 2012) I've got a 50% sale on all my courses! Just go to http://www.artclasspro.com/#/half-price-offer/4564235940 to get your painting course at half the normal price!!

Urban Sketchers.org

I've just come across this blog which features sketches and often equally colorful stories behind the scenes by 100 invited artists in more than 30 countries around the world. Some are architects and illustrators, others are graphic designers, web developers, painters or educators, all sharing the same passion for drawing on location.
Urban Sketchers started online as a flickr group in 2007 and later became a nonprofit organization. Our mission as a nonprofit is to raise the artistic, storytelling and educational value of location drawing, promoting its practice and connecting people around the world who draw on location where they live and travel. We aim to show the world, one drawing at a time.

It's a great source of ideas and inspiration for sketching, as everyone has a unique and different style - take a look at the blog; you won't be disappointed.