These are the questions people ask me most, usually from friends, or from one of my kids wondering why the dining table has gone missing under paper. Short answers, from my own table.
If yours isn’t here, my address is [email protected].
Am I too old to learn to draw?
No. Drawing is looking carefully and putting down what you see, one line at a time. Nothing in that has an age limit, and plenty of people start in their seventies and eighties. I started after I’d stopped working, and I was hopeless for the first month.
What is the least I need to buy?
One 2B pencil, one softer 4B or 6B, a plastic eraser, and a pad of ordinary drawing paper. That’s about the price of a sandwich. Buy more only once you know what you miss.
My hands get tired. What helps?
A thicker pencil, or an ordinary one wrapped in a bit of foam tubing from the hardware shop. Hold it loosely, draw in short sessions, and put it down when your hand says so. Fat-barrel colored pencils are worth a look too.
Do you draw from life or from photos?
From life when I can: a cup, a pot plant, the mango tree past the railing. You can walk around a real thing and see how it sits. Photos are fine on a wet day, but they flatten everything, so I use them second.
How long should I sit down to draw?
Fifteen or twenty minutes is plenty to begin with. A short session you actually do beats a long one you keep putting off.
Which books would you start with?
Whatever the local library has on beginner pencil drawing, with plenty of pictures and short exercises. Borrow two or three, keep the one you actually open, and only then think about buying it.
Do I need a class?
Not at all, though some people like the company or the structure. A library book, a few free videos and a regular half hour will take you a long way. If you do want a paid course, I write up the ones that suit beginners.