25 July 2022

This week we have a beautiful scenic view from a campsite - that gate looks very inviting! We have a new mug, and what better way to get to know something new than by drawing it! Fantastic idea! We have a gorgeous thistle, and what fun to take time out to really get to know that particular thistle; we have some patiently observed droplets, a very suitable mindful subject matter - a mindful meditation on watching droplets! We have a resident back bird - a friend maybe! - and another bird from someone who loves watching the birds - and what peace and tranquility watching the birds bring, watching birds is a ‘bird-meditation’ for sure.

We will finish up here with another Vincent Van Gogh quote: “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”  This is exactly what you all have done, a little bit of mindful drawing each week has built up to a great group portfolio of artwork featuring all the things you love, reminding us of the good that is always in our lives when we get present, when we get here, now. Look back over what you have achieved '“by a series of small things brought together” (indeed, this is good guidance for everything in life), well done everyone, this has been a really lovely project to be a part of!

18 July

For those that chose to follow the focus to draw in the ‘poorest of huts’ and the ‘dirtiest of corners’, we have a messy corner in the garden (don’t we all have those! And of course from mess, new things can grow); we have sore and dirty knees from working in the garden (a very messy and dirty place to be sometimes!); and a very useful and appreciated kitchen bin (I bet it LOVED being drawn).

We also have flowers in a vase, and flowers in a red umbrella - and as we know, flowers grow from rotted down ‘mess’ and ‘dirt’; we have a beautiful piece of perspective drawing, truly an awesome piece of architecture, and again thinking about where the raw materials for this structure will have come from before they were turned into what we see today, they may have been metaphorically speaking, ‘dirt’, and someone saw the potential in them; finally we have the tools of the artist’s trade, without which we couldn’t create these amazing artworks that tell about the world around us, much gratitude to the tools, who are now in a piece of artwork all their own.

“The way to know life is to love many things.” Vincent Van Gogh

We have been practising using mindful drawing to look at the world around us with the eyes of love. Vincent Van Gogh seems to endorse this method! For this, our final week before we break, look to see if when drawing something you love, you come to know it a bit deeper, and, know yourself a bit deeper in the process.

11 July 2022

This week, stripy socks! Something I think most of us can relate to! A much loved handbag, what a joy; and a beautiful window view of a tree. The helpful and lovely things that make up our lucky lives.

“I see drawings and pictures in the poorest of huts and the dirtiest of corners.” Van Gogh

Can you see something to draw in the ‘poorest of huts’ and the ‘dirtiest of corners’? We can show that thing appreciation and respect by choosing to draw it!

4 July 2022

This week we have delicious cabbage; wonderful clouds in the sky; comforting bedtime tea; and beautiful wild flowers at the beach. All drawings of our wonderful lives.

‘All the wonders of life are available in the present moment—the sunshine, the fresh air, the trees, the multitude of colours and forms all around us. The essential thing is to be aware. If we open our eyes, we will see.’ - Thich Nhat Hanh

If we look, we can indeed see that there are many wonders in our lives. For example, this week I have been looking at the wonders of washing up liquid and seeing that I am lucky that I can go to the shop and buy washing up liquid with money that I have in my purse. Maybe I should draw the washing up liquid!

What ‘wonders’ can you see if you ‘open your eyes’ in places where you may not have done before?

27 June 2021

Some wonderful pictures this week. Two are of animals and you can really get a sense of their energy and character; the rabbits being drawn whilst looking through binoculars - who else has tried this? It’s tricky at first , but you soon get used to it, and it’s really fun. A fantastic abstract which has a lovely sense of texture and touch’ - I can almost imagine myself drawing with that chalk. A simply wonderful chair, perfect for sitting and resting in… and drawing in maybe! A beloved lampshade, how often do we appreciate our lampshades?! And a very tall foxglove that had to be drawn over two pages!

‘You make the world beautiful and warm and kind. I just wanted to say thank you for that before it's too late.’ Louis Wain from ‘The Electrical Life of Louise Wain’ (2021)

Is there anything transient in your life that you might want to appreciate and to say ‘thank you’ to by giving it the honour of being drawn? (It’s fun to think of the things in our life getting all excited about being drawn, about having their ‘likeness’, their ‘portrait’ taken, immortalised on paper forever, loved forever, such as what we are doing here!).

20 June 2022

A wonderful range of mindful drawings this week, a phone, which helps us out so much, and although we always look at our phone, how much do we look at how it is constructed and it’s history, everyone and everything involved in it’s making; a beautiful drawing of part of a face, the eyes, brow and hairline - very beautiful; a wonderful Buddha by a pond brining great happiness; black out curtains which are much appreciated when the mornings are so light so early! And a humble yet incredible dandelion seed. Fantastic drawings of fantastic lives.

‘A lifetime without love is like a year without springtime’ - Asian Proverb.

One of our aims in this project is to draw what we love. As you make your drawing this week, what does it feel like to focus on what you love? Does it feel like springtime?

13 June 2022

Here we have a welcome hot beverage, which we can all relate to! We also have appreciation for feet! How marvellous they are! What have yours done for you today? Walked? Hopped? Danced? We have two juicy apples (I can taste them!). A leafy bathroom plant, a marvellous sprouting onion, and a beautiful teapot full of chai bliss. What a great week everyone had. 

“I was quiet, but I was not blind.” ― Jane Austen, Mansfield Park 

This week, be as quiet as you can. What can you see? Do see see more in relation to how quiet you are? 

6 June 2022

There are great drawings this week of really useful as well as beautiful items: a fantastic torch to shine a light and see outside at night; a brilliant pair of spectacles; a special case enclosing a lipstick; a small vase of beautifully scented flowers’ illustrations to bring joy. Thank you, everyone.

This week continue to notice and draw things in the real world around you. As Danny Gregory said in last week’s quote, as you draw, notice ‘all the things whirring in your head’. Does it all quieten down as you pay attention to what you are drawing?

“The world is quiet here.” ― Lemony Snicket

30 May 2022

This week we have a useful vacuum cleaner attachment - a very worthy art subject, I wonder if one has ever been drawn before?! A gorgeous dog rose (I can see it in the hedge now, gloriously pink); a very well used playstation controller; a set of old but perfectly functioning binoculars to help see the beautiful birds in the trees; and a drawing of a person drawing - caught in the act! 

‘Be here. Now. Art stops time. When you draw or paint what’s around you, you see it for what it is. Instead of living in a virtual world, as we do most of the time these days, you will be present in the real one. Instead of focusing on all the things whirring in your head, you will be able to stop, clear your mind, take a deep breath, and just be.’ - Danny Gregory 

This week sit in front of your subject matter and draw it. See if it is true for you that whilst drawing you are present in the real world and not in a virtual world.

Extra activity: as well as drawing your subject matter, take a photo of it. What do you notice about your experience of life (and yourself) with the two activities?

23 May 2022

A snapshot of our daily lives this week: a beautiful stripy garden pot; a very important key! A treasured butterfly ornament; a long living ring; evidence of a delicious meal; and an equally delicious naan bread! A much appreciated computer. What fantastic drawings, thank you everyone.

Sometimes when we look at something, we don’t really see it, we don’t see it clearly. We see what we think we see. We see a label or a name or a story. This week if you choose, look at something without any labels or stories attached to it - does this help you to see the subject matter in a new light? 

‘If only we could pull out our brain and use only our eyes’ - Pablo Picasso 

20.75 metres (68.1 feet)

Today we have an uplifting morning view with fluffy white clouds travelling across a blue sky; we have a trusty carrot peeler; an oval of gorgeous colours; a shining sun god in the garden; a favourite make up palette; a glorious orange flower; and delicious blueberry yoghurt. A perfect picture, every one. 

‘Open your eyes and draw. Look, look, look’ - George Alexis Weymouth

This week, open your eyes and look, look, look around you! What is in your environment that you may not have noticed before? Let’s honour it now, by drawing and giving it a page in our sketchbooks.

19.5 metres (63.97 feet) around the world

We have not one, but two very cute birds this week, as well as wonderful wildflowers, and a trusty spade.

This week I drew my spade and as Margaret Atwood told us last week, I did indeed really see it. I have used my spade many times, but I have never drawn it until now, never looked at it with my complete attention for a full 30 minutes. The rewards were great. I saw its perfectly constructed shapes, and its beautiful colours and textures. I thought of the tree that had been used for the handle, and I imagined the hot metal being formed into the shovel part. I gained some idea of how it had been designed and fabricated by people. I have always loved my spade, I love it even more now.

‘Drawing is a frame of mind, a loving embrace if you will’ - Susan Avishai

This week, if you choose, as you draw your subject matter, send it a loving embrace as you draw. Does this change how you draw?

18.84 metres around the world (61.81 feet)

We have two beautiful nesting pigeons, a hardworking pair of boots, a sleeping pet (I can just sense that beautiful pet, all soft and warm with maybe a wet nose), a gorgeous favourite vase, a view through a window of much loved trees and gratitude for some emergency anti-histamine. What fantastic drawings, celebrating our lives.

‘There's nothing like drawing a thing to make you really see it’ - Margaret Atwood

This week, notice how drawing something really helps you to see it, to investigate it, to understand it. 

17.6 metres around the world

This week Draw What You Love proudly presents… Seaweed Legs! (look closely and you can see the feet change size a little, at the point they break the water). Also in the line up this week is a blackbird singling (I can hear its melodious tune as I look at the drawing); beautiful wisteria (I can smell that heavenly scent); a spring flowering Christmas present (what a great gift); Derbyshire daffodils (I can sense them dancing in the breeze); and somebody’s favourite fruit, a banana (I can sense its sweet taste); a delicious coffee (I can inhale the rich aroma) and much loved headphones. Each if these drawings takes me to my own experience of each of the subjects and affirms everything I love about the world.

‘We were made to enjoy music, to enjoy beautiful sunsets, to enjoy looking at the billows of the sea and to be thrilled with a rose that is bedecked with dew…’ - Desmond Tutu

This week, if you choose, really enjoy your subject matter! Have a party while you draw, revel in it, smile, laugh, you could even have a little celebratory dance while you draw! Take great joy in the seeing and the drawing! Notice how that feels.

16.23 metres around the world

This week we have a lovely view of some trees through an open door, a trusty pair of embroidery scissors, wonderful washing (when you really pay attention to washing on the line, does it not seem like it’s dancing?!), a group of people meditating, and a loved partner drawing in a sunny apple orchard.

One person has reported that they are enjoying the weekly sessions, practising with drawing in a mindful manner; they say, ‘it’s such a good way to realise when your’e not being [mindful]’. Drawing mindfully, with attention and awareness in the present moment, is indeed a fun practise! And all we are doing is noticing, and then having more fun!

Each week you can make your drawing in any way you like. As requested by some people, I provide a focus for those that want it: this week as you draw, notice where your attention is; is it on your subject matter, on your drawing, on your breathing, on the sensations in your hand as you draw? Do thoughts come into your mind such as something you have to do later, or a worry that you have, or is there a negative judgemental voice in your head criticising your drawing? Notice everything and then bring your attention back to your breathing, your body, your artwork and your subject matter. After, you can make notes on what you saw if you wish.

‘You will learn to enjoy the process... and to surrender your need to control the result. You will discover the joy of practising your creativity. The process, not the product, will become your focus’ - Julia Cameron

15.37 metres around the world

It is lovely to see what we all have been focusing on this week: knees (where would we be without them!), cats and dogs (again, where would we be without them?!), an enjoyable sit down with a delicious coffee, beautiful lipstick, and a functional yet wonderful kettle. Delightful drawings of our daily lives.

This coming week as you make your mindful drawing, pay attention to your jaw - does it feel tight? Is it clenched? Breathe into your jaw and feel it soften. Slowly feel the softness spread to your whole face and skull. Feel the relaxation spread down your neck and shoulders and into your drawing arm and flow out through your hand onto your paper.

‘It is a process of diverting one's scattered forces into one powerful channel.’ James Allen

14.38 metres around the world

I don’t know how you all keep pulling it out of the bag, but very worthy subject matter again this week: beautiful spring tulips, silent meditating, sleeping pets, a special owl, a lovely cup of tea, a plant cutting from which new life will grow, and hard working washing up gloves. All fantastic drawings, thank you for sending them in.

This week, as you draw, feel your feet on the ground or on whatever they are touching. See if you can keep your attention on both your drawing and on your feet at the same time.

‘The daily small painting, a small resource and time commitment, is an exercise in absolute focus for that time period. It's like a meditation, really.’ Gaye Adams

13.28 metres around the world

I love this week’s meditative and focused drawings. When a drawing has been created with awareness in the present moment, it seems, to me at least, that viewers of the artwork can really connect with the feelings and the sensations felt by the artist, and also of the very subject matter itself. 

This week, continue to draw what you love, and whilst you are doing it, practise sending love to your subject matter, and see what you notice. 

‘All that I hope to say in books, all that I ever hope to say, is that I love the world’ - E.B. White

12.58 metres around the world

We have some great drawings of what we love this week - birds have been popular this week, with no less than three coming to say hello. And daffodils also have been very popular - we only need a few more and we will have ‘a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils’! There is a truly amazing sound drawing and we’ve also got a nourishing bag of oats. And, all the way from Spain we have a beautiful shell from the seashore.  **You can click on the thumbnails to enlarge the image, hover over to see the full text, or click on the little white dot on the bottom right if using a mobile phone to see the text.

It was fun last week to think about what our subject matter was made of; I focused on the water and the plant cells as well as the green and yellow colour wavelengths present in the daffodils, and also the soil, sun and rain which helped make the daffodils. 

Here is an activity you can try this week if you choose: set your timer for the middle of your allotted time. Before you start your drawing, focus on one long, deep conscious breath. Then, when your timer goes off in the middle, take another big conscious breath, and then do one more at the end of your drawing. What do you notice about how this affects your attention on your drawing, and on your body as you do the drawing? 

Breathe in deeply to bring your mind home to your body – Thich Nhat Hanh

11.61 metres around the world

Thank you all again for your wonderful, heartfelt, drawings. We are definitely on the road to spreading our drawings of what we love around the world. I hope you enjoyed last week’s focus of looking at the light and shadow of your subject.

This week, pay attention to what your subject matter is made of. What do you notice about what it is made of? Is it a natural material? Has it been human-made? Where has it come from, where has it been made or grown? Did the forces of nature make it, or has it been handmade by a person, or, maybe in a factory? Is it composed of different materials? Is it warm or cold? Hard or soft? Rough or smooth? Does it grow or change, or is it more static? Can you imagine being that substance or substances? What would that feel like? Can you connect with, and appreciate, the materials and substances that your subject matter is made up whilst you are drawing it.

‘To linger in the observation of things, other than the self, implies a profound conviction of their worth’ - Charles-Damain Boulogne