Tim A Shaw - Draw and Be Happy: Art Exercises to Bring You Joy

First published in the United States of America in 2018 by Chronicle Books LLC.

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Perhaps you have picked up this book because you already know that when you are drawing, you feel happier, or when you have finished a piece of work, you get that glow of achievement. Or perhaps you arent that into drawing yet, but the idea of sitting down to draw every day seems like something worth trying out.

The seventy-five exercises in this book are each completely different but they all have two things in common: they are designed to make you to want to draw, and to make you happy! If you need encouragement to flex your creative muscles, start with one of the warm ups that begin on .

If you are feeling down in the dumps and would like an instant pick-me-up, you will feel much better once you have taken time to find the joy in tiny things, as discussed on .

Lots of people see being creative as a way to find a moment of calm in their lives. If thats you, turn to will help you figure out whats missing from your life right now.

There is no right or wrong way to use this book, to draw, or to find happiness within yourself. So dig in anywhere! Find your best pencil, pen, or paintbrush, and start drawing right now: on a scrap of paper, right across the walls of your room, or out in the sunshine of a new day.

Go forth, draw, and be happy !

A note from the author...

I created the exercises in this book to inspire you to think about drawing as a daily toolone that will encourage, comfort, and stimulate you, and help you to plan and reflect.

Drawing can be about retaining controlthe lines that you make on a surface will do as they are told, and stay exactly where they have been placedbut drawing also has the potential to be fluid, free, and liberating.

Your drawing surface can extend far beyond the boundaries of a sheet of paper, flowing out into the wider world. Anything you can imagine can become a drawing surface, and your drawing implement can be anything that will make a mark. There is no limit to potential subjects and you can be as inventive as you wish with your drawing process.

Drawing can be an independent or a collaborative activity, and it doesnt matter if you havent sketched a thing since you were a child (although you may well already be scribbling, doodling, and sketching without even realizing it).

By challenging yourself with these exercises, I hope that you will find inspiration and creative happiness through drawing.

Tim A Shaw

This is a very simple but satisfying way to warm up your drawing hand.

Sit somewhere comfortable with your pen and paper at the ready. Use the tip of your pen to follow an imaginary piece of string, and then make that line tie itself in a knot. Once you have made the knot, why not try getting more technical and letting your pen tie an overhand knot, a bowline, a half hitch, a sheepshank, and a reef knot?

This is a quick exercise to help you get a feel for the surface you are drawing on.

Make a mark from one side of your paper to the other (left to right, or right to left). Working in one continuous movement, make the line as straight as you can.

Then start again from the end point of your first line and retrace your movement, trying not to deviate from the original line at all. Now place your pen on the original starting point once again and close your eyes. Try to follow the line simply by feeling the slight groove you have made in the paper. Focus on the channel you previously forged with your pen and let it guide your movement across the paper.

Start and finish a portrait in the time it takes to count to ten.

Take some time to study a friends face. The aim is to capture every feature in the quickest, most efficient way possible. Without any breaks in your line, follow the shapes, shadows, lines, and contours that make that person look different to any other. Try to limit yourself to ten seconds per portrait, concentrating on the person and not on the paper.

Without lifting your pen or pencil from the paper, mark out the outline of the room you are in. Dont only pay attention to the lines where the walls, floor, and ceiling meet, but expand your awareness of your surroundings to record every piece of furniture, appliance, plug socket, and light fixture.