What A Fur Ball Taught Me About
Sketch Drawing

Now, sketch drawing is not something normally taught by fur balls.

But this was a rather special fur ball, and the lesson he taught was a very, very important one...

For every aspiring artist.

Indeed, it’s a crucial lesson that can get overlooked in the struggle to develop your art skills.

Yet, it’s a sketch drawing lesson that makes your development so much faster and more rewarding.

The Crucial Sketch Drawing Lesson

Before I talk more about this crucial lesson, let me describe how my fur ball taught it. The fur ball of which I speak was named Cyril.

And his sketch drawing lesson took place not in a studio or classroom.

The setting was outside as I sat near a stand of bamboo.

You see, one of the things that kept Cyril perky and fit was allowing him out in our fenced-in back yard.

There he could run around for half an hour or so and eat dandelions and old dead leaves. Not a cuisine that made my mouth water, but Cyril loved it.

And he had a special way of showing he loved it. He did what I call twitchy jumps.

This behavior is actually a survival mechanism.

When chased by predators, rabbits try to confuse them. In their attempt to escape, rabbits jump in the air and send their rear end twisting in a different direction than their front end intends to go when it hits the ground again.

In non-threatening situations, these twitchy jumps are a way for a fur ball to say, "Hey, I'm feeling GOOOOOD!"

And therein lies a vital art lesson.

Sketch Drawing Must Be Fun

If you approach a drawing or painting like a household chore...

...your art will show that.

If your subject doesn't excite you...

or you get frustrated, because you get caught up in all the minute details of it...

...your art will show that.

And your development as an artist will be slower and more frustrating.

So, the number one goal for every sketch drawing (or painting) you do is to first ask yourself, “How can I make this fun to do.”

When you successfully answer that question, you are well on your way to successful, exciting (and fun) art.

Best Wishes,
Gary Gumble
Founder of BeginningArtist.com
Without art the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable. (George Bernard Shaw)

P.S. There is one more thing that’s important to notice in this blog post.

And to keep in mind as you do your own art.

The fur ball sketch drawings you see in this post are not complicated ideas.

To be fun to do and exciting to look at...

Your sketch drawings (or paintings) don’t need to be either.