Carry a sketchbook and/or a pencil or "mark maker" like a sharpie everywhere. It can be small enough to fit in a pocket and still serve the purpose. When you sketch often. even doodling. you are training your eyes to see. Draw your hand, an old shoe, and fruit, dishes, vases and the trees you see. When you have more time to devote to sketching, carry a larger sketchbook 5x7 for sketching with markers, pencils or charcoal pencils.

Take a thick piece of cardboard or plastic (foam board) and cut out a small rectangle shape, creating a small window to look through (squint your eyes) when you are sketching so you can see basic shapes, their colors, tonal values and placement much better. This is called the "Notan". Notan helps you figure out a better composition you can do on a larger paper later, perhaps adding a bit of color.

Divide a page in your smaller sketchbook into 4 to 6 windows. Play with the placement of these shapes and negative spaces, never placing an object smack dab in the middle of the drawing. Part of the shapes can also go off the edge of the window, cutting off part of the shape. Shapes can be overlapped as well.

After you have done all the possible combinations of placement, choose the one you like the best and draw a larger picture of the scene or still life in a larger sketchbook also that has watercolor paper in it for sketching things with watercolor, pastels, conte', etc. where you will need a thicker surface. Go to this one after you have worked out the "Notan" and four to six different compositions on your smaller sketchbook.

Working out the Notan design of a scene or still life first, helps you decide where to place the objects in your painting so it will have a powerful composition. Whether you are drawing or painting, this will be an important start to a great finished piece you will want to show everyone, mat and frame and place in an important place in your room. Later you might enter it in a show and sell the work.

Don't worry if you will be an artist when you grow up. No matter what career you choose in the future, a business which require you make up a flyer of some kind, a Scientist, a Realtor, an Insurance agent, a teacher or Director of Children's ministries in you church, drawing may be a handy thing to know.

Start today before your first real lesson. Sketch inside or out. Try drawing your hand, an old gym shoe, a chair and the negative (empty space) space around and through the openings of the chairs and trees first. If you can say, that looks just like my hand; shoe, chair, tree, etc. when you've finished, you have captured what all artists are trying to capture. the "Itness" of things.

I will help you with your sketchbook "Journal" but the lessons I give are over and above this all important ongoing activity.

The Arthous Resident Artist