Art as a therapy. For self and family.

Try this....

Empty your mind. I find that putting a totally random CD or turning the radio on helps.

I try to plan my day. Put yourself at the centre of your drawing. You may find other mediums for this too. Try using the stuff on the breakfast table and arrange them into an installation using say a pepperpot as a representation of yourself!

If you are going to do a drawing to represent where you are at right now in the world, a kind of self evaluation drawing I would recommend more than the 10 minutes limit that I suggest stops any unecessary too deep plumbing the mind!

The subconcious will often surprise you with the product and quality of these drawings or the emotions colours and thoughts contained therein.

Listen. Who cares if you think you can't draw. An illiterate orangutan in the deepest borneo rapidly depleting rainforest has the capacity to snatch a twig off the floor and etch a drawing of a banana on the beach whilst sunbathing for a spare ten minutes whilst not dodging game hunters!! <<>

Obviously don't think too deeply about every work or piece you produce and try different medium. Charcoal, clay, pastels and even try this...

You are at breakfast. Envisage yourself as say the tomato ketchup (This is good because it is nearly empty and you make a note to get more later, but must be heinz!)

And then make an installation using the other various bits of breakfast paraphernalia that may be strewn on your table.

Just try not to emulate Richard Dreyfuss in close encounters of the third kind and start producing works of art out of your bangers and mash. I suggest you eat it before it gets cold!

#TIP Often some of these shorter ten minute doodles become ideas or inspiration for future drawings and some of the productions of these drawings are not only OK themselves but have led to quite pleasing drawings later on!

"An artist will see potential pictures anywhere and everywhere. As will the photographer."

Your potential next masterpiece may be a segment contained in a fairly mundane picture, or one of the millions of images that your eyes produce and your brain assimilates on a nano secondly basis. I often wonder if people see beauty in most things like I do?

My mind frames pictures and stores them for me being able to instantly recall these pictures or portions of drawings at some later time when I need to sit quietly and draw. I don't want to be quiet so I have not been drawing the usual

MANGA Snoopy Landscapes COMICS Abstracts Cubist Superhero Doodles Cosmology

Or billions of other drawings that are contained yet a message from me to me.... When you feel the need to sit quietly again try some drawing and don't mind if you chuck more out than keep. Hey and maybe if you ever should run out of toilet roll you will always have a source of paper!

Just don't get in to neurosis over which drawing to choose to wipe....

<(ovo)> Rob xx 09.17 am 24/01/10

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