You have heard this before- colored pencil is a SLOW medium. Most of my drawings take between 5 and 15 hours. And, when I try to hurry to get something finished, I am nearly always disappointed with the results. I am much happier in the end when I force myself to slow down and take my time.
This is why most of my real-time tutorials are LONG! Of course, I could cut corners and ‘call it done’ before it is but I would not be proud of that and it would show. And, it would give you the impression that all of my drawings are done that way and they are not. They take hours. They just do.
It is natural to want to FINISH. But, you never want to compromise quality for speed. You will regret it.
Remember, this is supposed to be fun! Presumably, you are drawing and creating art because you enjoy it. Focusing on finishing and the finished product can create stress and turn something relaxing into something you feel like you have to do or get done. And, none of us needs one more thing to cross off our to-do list.
If you have trouble slowing down and focusing on the process, here are a couple of tips:
1. Pair drawing with something else you really enjoy. For me, it is usually Podcasts and Audio Books. My friends are always surprised by how many books I can ‘read’ in a month:) That is hours and hours of ‘reading’!
I will also listen to my favorite movies or TV series in the background. These Peonies took over 40 hours, which is one of the reasons I did not film them. I re-listened to Downton Abbey while I drew these and it helped me stay motivated.
2. If you are anxious to finish a few drawings and don’t want to spend 20-30 hours on something, focus on smaller, less detailed pieces. Work on studies. Draw a series of leaves or fruits that you know you can complete in a shorter period of time. These smaller pieces can be very beautiful, too. Simple flowers, like Tulips, take much less time than something detailed like a Peony.
You can watch the drawing tutorial for this tulip here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/colored-pencil-35427109
This week, try spending just a little more time on each drawing. Try slowing down. When you think you are finished, set a timer for an hour, press play on your audiobook and look for something about your drawing to improve on- sharpen the edges, deepen the shadows, brighten the highlights, add a few more details, erase away the pencil dust, work on that one area that isn’t quite right- you know the one!
Finally, if you enjoy the process, you can truly let go of the outcome. It is the work that matters. It is the effort you put in. Don’t ask yourself, how good was my last drawing but ask how much effort did I bring to it? Did I enjoy it? Did I learn from it? What did I learn? And then start something new.
I hope you all enjoyed this tip! I would love to hear your thoughts.
To see all of my available drawing tutorials, click here: jennifermorrisonart.com/patreontutoriallinks
Jennifer
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