Notes from your Beth Friend

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This may come as a surprise, but I'm heavily influenced by cheesy exercise instructors' motivational workout mantras. Lifting the cover of a sketchbook can be the hardest part, thanks to life’s responsibilities, distractions, and to-do lists. That’s where a bit of good ol’ self discipline comes in handy. That's become my approach toward my daily creative practice. But it doesn’t mean I’m attempting masterpieces every time I sit down to draw.

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I usually love sharing the amazing art from people who join the live sessions here. But for our friends doing the replay, I won’t spoil the surprise. Enjoy! ​✏️ drawing animals ✏️ creating backgrounds ✏️ advancing foundational drawing skills ✏️ practicing simplifying when drawing from reference images ​This is a playful session and all materials are welcome. Shivam launched his Patreon! I’ve already joined and it’s a wonderful, welcoming community of artists.

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Things that make me cry: sick pets, not having running water1, and poorly-lit photos of beautiful drawings. I’m going to show you how to light your art photos brilliantly! Photography is like drawing in that way. In your art practice, you need to draw a lot of things you don’t like to discover what you do. Shooting lots of photos will grow your skills faster than reading about it on Substack, so let’s get right to the activity. Observe the differences in each photo.

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I had such a delightful time drawing and chatting today. Choosing the photos for our sessions is almost as much fun as drawing them. Drawing while hosting can be challenging, but in a good way. I don’t always make complete drawings and sometimes finish from imagination. You can too! The timer doesn’t make the rules your art. It’s just a little nudge to get your pencil moving during the session.

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Ugly drawings are a thing of beauty. Bad drawings show you what you don’t like, so you can create work that feels right. The work that feels right is what you want to share publicly. That’s the stuff you want to get hired to make! My sketchbooks are full of failed experiments. Those pages remind me to approach drawing playfully, instead of worrying what others will think of my art. This helps take the pressure off when working on commissions and professional projects.