I am refreshing my art training, and getting back into it.
There are many new tools out there that were not available when I was doing most of my work, in the past. Notably the computer!

Many here may be somewhat housebound with illness. Creative work is very therapeutic and I find it helps with pain and frustration.

So I've been going thru YouTube and have found some very good videos by some generous artists.

This thread will be for that...to encourage people to start a drawing/painting hobby perhaps.

To start off, the first hurdle is "drawing". People often have internal critiques telling themselves they cannot "draw". Well there is a brilliant teacher, Betty Edwards, who has written 2 wonderful books on learning to draw.

She has a long video of 7 lessons, that should inspire new artists and experienced ones too. I read both books several years ago and am now refreshing myself with them again. Then today I found this wonderful, gentle video. It is amazing what she has accomplished with inexperienced artists within a short time...2-4 weeks!

Good drawing skills sharpen perception and improve problem solving and other life time skills. Drawing is also fun and therapeutic. If you love to paint, these skills will create a foundation for your painting style...whatever it may be. This attention to drawing will also improve your photographs.

Here is Betty Edwards on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8DDtkkcdXc

I'll be putting up videos in the future as well, as I find them.
I do a little bit each day. That way it is not so much a work task, as it is fun.

Some painting videos

Jerry Yarnell
https://www.youtube.com/user/1addyrae

Seascapes-
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...seascapes&sm=1

Landscapes -
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...andscapes&sm=3

Florals -
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...g+florals&sm=3

You can add "for beginners", or change search subjects to find many other videos..

this YouTube is interesting. I believe this fellow is enjoying his drawing quite a bit and this particular video explains some of the
tools available for drawing, here graphite, as used in the Betty Edwards video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpcrU...C0gd17cyxjCPXz

You can start with a good kneaded eraser and a white plastic one.
Just a few pencils...H, HB, 2B and very dark one like Ebony.

You don't need alot of stuff to get started. A good sketch book, with acid free paper, and that is at least 90lb...is a good beginning one to get. Tyler demonstrates the Canson, and that one is a good brand. Strathmore makes some acid free student grade ones too that are affordable.

You can buy online at Blicks, or Utrecht's (now merged with Blick) or Jerry's Artarama. There are other discount places online, and Ebay. I often get my mechanical pencils and leads on Ebay, and my colored pencils. Using a key word "used art supplies" sometimes brings up gently used things for very affordable prices on Ebay..but you have to look every day. There are many sellers of brushes, paints and just about everything on Ebay.
Keyword "used art supplies"
"art supply lot", "colored pencils", brushes lot, "watercolor paints pans", drawing pencils, etc.

Once you get going, you'll decide what you like the best, and you can add things to your supply hoard. Don't be surprised if you become a "hoarder" of sorts....LOL
Over the years I've found many very inexpensive supplies at garage sales...but in the winter like now, this is not feasible.
Pastels are often easy to find at garage sales, for example.
I confess I've become somewhat of a hoarder...it is nice to have things to grab when you are working, so you don't have to stop and figure out how to buy a needed item (and therefore wait).

I buy the paper locally so I can feel it and see it, however.

I am going to put up a small watercolor...I did this years ago and sold it. It illustrates a pencil study, a colored pencil study, and the final watercolor. This is a small work... I don't recall the actual dimensions but the pencil study is in a 9 x 12 sketchbook.

Thanks to you both.

What a great motivational thread to wake up to this morning.

I've not touched pencil, charcoal or paintbrush to paper or canvas in way too many years. I used to do a lot but then I guess I got lazy in that sense and spent more time on the history side of art rather than just doing some myself. I must get back to it. I'm very interested (as I've already told mrsD) in botanical art. Unfortunately the course I want to do is in another area now as I moved, but I recall finding some online sites and have saved them in my bookmarks. I just forget to look at them is the problem.

To keep your art stuff for storage, you don't need fancy things, like in Tyler's video.
Although some neat things do exist for storage. I find that artists tend to gravitate to neat things to keep their tools...it seems like an aesthetic extension sometimes. I enjoyed Tyler's video on that level...he loves his stuff! His other videos on his channel demonstrate that, too.

I use cigar boxes often for pencils and erasers etc. I used to visit a store that sold wine (and cigars) ....and often I helped the owner with some medical/drug advice for his ADHD son. So in return he let me have the wooden empty boxes when he had them. They were really nice! LOL

But now I see pencil sized plastic containers at WalMart and Target for less than 3.00 each...you can see inside them. So I have a few of those too.

For travel I do have a nice tackle box. If you join an art class (I've taken night courses, and local ones, and finally went to a local University as a post degree student and chose art), the tackle boxes are a must. Art Bins are nice, but tend to be pricey.
I have a plastic fish tackle box myself. Michael's and Joann's have lots of crafty accessories. I like to get a coupon out of the paper at times and visit when I have an overflow of stuff to see if anything will work there for me.

Pencils need some care in carrying around. The inner leads can shatter/crack and then they won't sharpen. Colored pencils are very prone to this as well as pastel types and Charcoal ones.
So for working outside I use mechanical pencils for this reason.
If you take colored pencils out to places, a roll up carrier for about $6.00 is best. There are many sellers of these on Amazon and Ebay today. Roll ups go easily into canvas totes and are very handy.

Okay, Lara.... I hope you get going...roll up those sleeves and
drag out some paper and doodle away...something will emerge.

Faber Castell colored pencils are the favored ones for botanical
drawings. (they are pricey however.). Lyras are good too.

I wanted to be a medical illustrator at one point, but my parents were very against my interest in art...so I didn't get any training until I escaped them. I had lots of time for self taught activity, but the professional training was the big stimulus for me.
I did most of it when my husband was in Vietnam. I worked full time too... I don't know how I managed it all! LOL

I don't know how you managed it all either, but you did and it's a wonderful thing.

I will get organized I promise. lol

I have to wait until my poisoned thumb heals before I do anything right now. Usual summer drama I have... bites, bugs, bacteria etc. The joys of gardening here.

p.s. I've got all the supplies I need to get started... except the paper and that's no drama to organize.

What happened to your thumb?

When you get going, you can post here or start a new thread, whatever.

The "dry periods" either for writers or artists can be good on the one hand (incubation of ideas) or not good, freeze you up.
I was working so many hours/week to pay for our son's college for 5 yrs, that I sort of "lost myself". So I understand, believe me!

I am starting a drawing of Bambi toys...yep...I have a Bambi obsession. I bought a group of Bambi toys (I had the dog figure from another toy purchase on Ebay)...on Ebay...and the seller sent them to me in this cute box. It is from Harry and David...a Xmas treat supply place---fruit nuts etc. It was just perfect.
So I took a couple of reference photos.... this is what I am starting this week. (if anyone knows what this dog toy is from, I'd appreciate it).

That binder to the left contains my art slides. I just moved them to new archival plastic sleeves. That took a whole week! sheesh.
I didn't realize how many I had... how prolific I was back then!

But you know back when, I didn't have a digital camera to help, no computer, no Ebay, ...only my own eyes and resources. Now I have a whole pile of neat things to draw/paint that I found on Ebay.heheheheheheh

If the doggie looks like a Jack Russell Terrier it might be Milo from the animated version of The Mask. I saw a couple of images that looked a lot like him.

I'm not sure if the dog you have has movable legs... Kelloggs had toy dogs too. I just saw a couple in a search. Vintage toy dogs. LOL The things I get to see. Love it.

Will look more a bit later...

Thumb totally swollen and infected from below nail down into my hand. Fever, sick etc... I don't go to doctors often anymore unless emergency but I went Sunday to after hours clinic and am glad I did. One more day and I would have been in real trouble.

Anyway, long story short... Staphylex 500 q.i.d. (gross yuk ugh) and some antibacterial prescribed ointment (handy to have despite the cost). Doing much better today.

Thanks for asking.

Whoa.... sounds awful. I'm glad you didn't let it get away from you!