✏️ How to Draw: REALLY Draw
Learn the dance, the improvisation, and how to open up the conversation between you, the pencil, pen and paper.
I wrote the words in this creative prescription exercise at about 4 a.m. I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to draw and have a cuppa-tea. As I put drawing pen to paper, the thoughts rushed at me and demanded I write them down in my journal!
I hope my words and video inspire you to draw and approach it in a new way, especially if you have been feeling stuck.
First, you have to allow the drawing to speak to you. If at first you don’t hear it, walk away and leave it alone. It will speak and show itself to you eventually.
Trust in its quiet wisdom.
Keep looking and listening. You’ll hear it. You’ll know.
It’s a dance, an improvisation, a conversation between you and the page. That drawing is more than just your voice. It has a voice of its own. It’s its own living entity, waiting to be discovered, unlocked, and unleashed. Carved out from the page, like Michelangelo freeing David from the stone and marble.
The drawing is waiting to be born, and you are the life-giver. It was there all along; you just had to find it. You just had to listen.
Drawings bloom like wildflowers in a meadow. Once they germinate, they’ll spread and flourish. Take a break and start again. Let them unfold at their own pace, like the blossoming of the flower.
Let them reveal themselves to you.
Once you’ve placed the first few marks on the paper, your mind, your knowing, will be anticipating the next mark and the next and the next. Follow this intuitive guidance, letting it lead you towards the next stroke.
Every drawing evolves, becoming more, building upon its last version. And you learn and grow along with it, learning from the past and applying your knowledge and wisdom to the present. Like our lives, this journey is like an ever-unfolding story, rich with discovery and transformation.
Remember to leave parts unfinished as you go. Like breadcrumbs so that you can find your way back to them. Allow them this space so they can silently form and then burst into life when they need to speak. Just as you wouldn’t rush labour, you must allow the drawing to crown and birth when it’s ready with that last push.
The lines that fall from your fingers will want to give birth to the next. A family of drawings will make way for the next generation, evolving and adapting until well after you, the artist, no longer exists.
Until they find another hand to inspire and guide them in revealing the lines within the page that wish to be seen, but you’ll have laid the way. You’ll be the catalyst through your work long after you have departed. Your legacy will whisper through the lines left behind.
Don’t deprive the next generation of drawings. Create and show your work. Trust your intuition and your ability. Even a simple doodle can hold immense power.
Drawing is a language beyond words. It’s a birth and death cycle. Embrace the magic within this creative process, and let it guide you to_________________
I’ll let you fill in that blank with your next drawing.
When I draw something, I feel an incredible connection, almost like a conversation with the subject. It's about looking deeply and letting intuition guide my hand." -
— Cathy Johnson, artist, writer, teacher
🧑🎨 About this creative exercise
These words speak to the idea that drawings have a voice and life of their own and that the artist's role is to listen, discover, and reveal what’s already there within the page.
Explore these 5 overlooked elements of drawing
1. Patience and intuition: allow the drawing to speak and reveal itself in its own time.
2. Conversation with the page: the drawing is a dynamic interaction between the artist and the medium, akin to a dance or a conversation. Allow it’s natural unfolding.
3. Drawing as a living entity: remember the drawing is more than just marks on paper—it’s a living entity with its own voice and existence.
4. Evolution and growth: The creative process is an evolving journey, where each drawing builds upon the last; where both the artist and the art grow together.
5. Legacy and continuity: your drawings will continue to inspire and evolve even after you, the artist, are no longer physically present. Share your creations; even a simple doodle holds immense power—don't withhold your art from future generations.
Art is not just about the final product but the ongoing creation, discovery, and transformation process. Drawing is magical. Be patient, practice diligently, and be prepared to listen to the wisdom that wants to reveal itself to you through your pencil, pen, and blank page.
🖋️ My intuitive drawing process
In this video, I walk you through how I approach my drawing in an intuitive way and allow the drawing and my intuition to speak to one another!
I’ll share the final inked drawing next week, so stay tuned for that.
🪞 Reflection & Enquiry
As you started to draw, did the marks flow effortlessly or did you encounter resistance and negative self-talk?
What did you discover about yourself during the process?
Will you try again?
I would love to see pictures of your creations. Email your images and thoughts to info@georgiestclair.com or tag me @georgiestclair on Instagram or notes
🎨 Stay Creative!
Georgie x
If you liked this creative prescription exercise, you might like:
Do you draw? Does it intimidate you if you don't? Have a go at drawing a single line on the page and seeing where it takes you
Right. That drawing that’s been in my sketch book for a few months needs some attention today.