All that is needed for the following fun exercises is paper and pencils, although you can use anything. A favourite of mine is drawing with ink and a stick, but it can be quite messy!
Timed Drawings
The one-minute drawing challenge is a good way to encourage drawing from life. Simply select a favourite toy or special object to draw. Put it in front of you, at eye height as you have to keep looking at it while you draw. You are not allowed to look down at your drawing until you have finished! The final drawing won’t be perfect, but it will be a fun, lively and loose drawing in response to what you see.
A bit like a Picasso!
You can take it in turns to draw, while one person stays in charge of the timer (and catches out anyone peeking at their paper before the minute is up!)
You can use this exercise as a warm up for doing a slightly long timed drawing where you are allowed to look at your paper.
You should find that your drawings are much freer and livelier.
Silhouettes
This exercise is all about learning to see things in a different way. Silhouette drawings encourage us to pay attention to light, shadow and the shapes of objects. Pick 2-3 objects, choosing ones that have interesting shapes such as plants, toys and kitchen utensils. Arrange them in a row on a windowsill. The light shining through the window will reveal the shapes of the objects, making it the perfect lighting for drawing silhouettes!
Sit opposite the window and start by drawing a horizontal line for the windowsill, then let your pencil travel around the outside edges of your objects. Keep going around the edges of the objects until you have finished all the silhouettes.
If you shade in your drawings, you will create a contrast between the light coming in through the window and your silhouettes.
Using your senses
The final drawing challenge is lots of fun. Choose some objects that feel interesting- bananas and oranges work well - and hide them from the person drawing. They have to feel the object without looking at it, and then draw it. This is a great way to develop descriptive language in young children because you can talk about, 'is it smooth?', 'does it feel rough?', 'is it hard/soft?' etc. Can they guess what it is without peeking?
An enjoyable version of this challenge is to try and draw or paint music. Again, this provides wonderful opportunities for developing language as you talk about 'loud/soft', 'smooth', 'harsh' etc.
I hope that you enjoy these actives. I would love to hear how you get on and see your artwork.
Please send your work to me, Sue Churchill, at norhamartsgroup.com. Thank you.
A great idea.