An EASY drawing exercise that will help you see shapes

Here’s an easy drawing exercise that takes just seconds. This simple exercise will help you

• see shapes 
• simplify and group objects
• master compositions

I love this exercise: it’s perfect for beginner painters. It helps you find the essence of your artwork. And when finished, your sketches can also be used to start a painting!

But it’s also good for experienced painters who want to paint in a more abstractified manner. When you find yourself getting too tight and stuck in the details, this is the exercise for you.

Remember, painting is all about shapes. And a basic painting process that really works is to start with 5-7 nice big shapes!

And here’s some BONUS content for you. Click here to download your QuickStart Guide to Oil Painting. It’s free. Easy to read. And designed to get you painting fast.

This is how to do the easy drawing exercise: 

• find a photo you like (landscapes are usually the easiest to start with)
• create your sketch using JUST 5 lines.

That’s it! 

Here are some of my 5-line drawings made from my landscape photos.

Here’s Picasso doing it. Yes, your finished work can even be a complete drawing!

Simplification in art is a wonderful thing. And painters are all about looking for shapes. We mass and group objects together to simplify and find the most important elements.

#DumaDoArtTip: Try this daily for a week! You can do this while waiting for the kettle to boil. I recommend always keeping your sketchbook handy so that it’s no big bother to get it. Removing obstacles is key to making an art habit stick.

Remember: if you show up every day for a year, and get just 1% better each day, you’ll end up 37 times better than when you started. That’s the power of tiny gains! 

As best selling author James Clear writes, “small improvements will add up to something significant.”

Give this easy drawing exercise a try. Then drop your sketches into the Irene Duma Teaches Art Facebook Group.

Because art is for sharing.