I’ve heard the ‘draw everyday’ mantra so often and from so many people that I feel guilty if I go to bed one day without putting pencil to paper. The idea is that the more often you draw, the better you become at drawing.
The problem with this thinking is that it assumes that the drawing is the end goal; that I want to make better drawings. It assumes that if I don’t draw everyday (which I don’t), I’m not as good as I could be, that I’m not living up to my ‘potential.’ That just makes me feel even worse.
What this advice seems to fail to recognise is that I’m not motivated by the drawing, I’m motivated to draw because of what drawing does to me.
Drawing (and making art in general), teaches me about myself. It reveals what I’m scared of, what I enjoy, what makes me laugh and cry. It shows me, clearer than anything else, what my weaknesses are and what I’m good at.
All aboard
When I say that drawing shows me my weaknesses, I don’t mean ‘I struggle drawing feet’. I mean I discover that I can be impatient because I hate how long it takes for watercolour to dry. That I frustrate easily when I fail time and again to get a simple curve right. That I don’t value my own opinion enough or that I lack confidence because I find that I go seeking validation from anyone that’ll give me 30 seconds of their attention. Drawing has revealed those things to me and, because of drawing, I’ve been able to work on them in other parts of my life so I can be a better partner, son, colleague, and friend.
The more your draw, the more you learn… about yourself
In fact, even this observation alone has come from drawing more regularly than I normally do. I still won’t draw everyday – the lessons I learn about myself from drawing need time to proof and settle in other parts of my life, anyway. But, perhaps there are others who need to re-contextualise why drawing is important to them. Sure, the ‘craft’ of it is one thing, (and yes, I should practice drawing more feet), but possibly discovering those automatic parts of oneself could be more motivating over the long run.