Drawing Challenge

Drawing of stuff in my studio.

In April of 2011, being inspired by my desire to fill some incomplete sketchbooks, I started a-drawing-a-day challenge for myself.

There were no rules except to complete one drawing a day, and the end product was not to be as important as the process. Therefore a drawing could be completed in as little as five minutes. The drawings were to be just for me and not for public consumption. Unless of course I wanted to share them. This gave me the freedom to draw whatever, and however I wanted without the nagging feeling that it was “not being good enough.”
  
The project took on a life of its own when several people joined me. Some started and drew occasionally, while others joined later, and still draw with me. It is fun to have more people participating because we nudge each other along.

Drawing every day has taught me to pay more attention to my surroundings. It has taught me that even the most insignificant objects are worthy of recording. It has helped me to draw with more confidence. And it has shown me that drawing can be a powerful form of meditation.

The challenge was supposed to finish at the end of August, 2011, but daily drawing became a habit that I continue today. I have not only finished those incomplete sketchbooks but filled eight new ones, and I’m halfway through my ninth. Certainly, there are times when it is not possible to draw every day but those times are few and far between.