Creative Habits: Drawing Part 1

As part of my Creative Habits Series I swore to the artgods that I would be drawing; then I moved; everything went awry immediately and I've been delayed since. That's the short version.

Drawing, ink on paper, 9"x 12", 2007

The plan
Essentially I am sending myself back to school. I'm starting over. Sometimes you need to have a bit of a reset in order to move forward. I've been stuck for a while and I really need to move on and develop serious work. I've been "warming up" for a long time. I have not drawn in yonks and I feel guilty about that. I went through some of my old art school drawings and felt even more guilty.
I really need to draw again. Why then am I sitting here writing about it? Vicious cycle.
Improving your drawing skills also involves actually doing it, but also research. With this comes with reading and having a good foundation. Books help a whole lot. Research is a very intrinsic part of art life, so if you're an artist who does not read, it's potentially uncool for you. It's not just about making alone. Practice, yes, without a doubt; you definitely need to expand your horizons and learn something.

Little Things: Flow Series11: 09, ballpoint pen on paper, 2.5" x3", 2010

These are a selection of the books I will be using, hopefully thoroughly. I've only just gotten The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain: A Course in Enhancing Creativity and Artistic Confidence by Betty Edwards, which I've meant to read for ages. Experimental Drawing is one of my treasures that I found in school through a lecturer. It's quite a fabulous as a start to a great contemporary drawing practice. The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed is newish and it looks to be quite useful to say the least.My anatomy books are Louise Gordon's Anatomy and Figure Drawing and Albinus on Anatomy by Robert Hale. You can also buy them from my handy dandy Amazon store. If you've got any other favourites or suggestions, make sure to comment and I'll add them to my list.

Media

I plan to use the materials I have, bond, drawing, Kraft, construction and watercolour papers. I also have some other random surfaces which will be fun like wood and canvas. Since my art supply reorganization, I realise I have a ton of materials, some of which I have not really used. I have a variety of inks, oil pastels, graphite, pencils, and whatever else. Some of the new things to try include Sumi-E and other calligraphy techniques. I'm excited and intimidated but it should be fun.