Speakers: Lyn, UK
Lyn: Hi, I'm Lynn and I'm from the Midlands in the UK and I've been doing Draw Awesome, I think, from the beginning - - so I'm one of the early cohort.
Can we see some of the artwork that you've produced, while on the Draw Awesome Course?
Lyn: Okay, so Phil asked us to show some of the artwork we've done. Some of these are from the Draw Awesome Course and some are not. This was one which hopefully will show up. It was a Draw Awesome project. It was one where I kind of really got to grips with using the coloured pencils for the first time and I could get it to do what I wanted and I could look at what he was doing and I could interpret that in my own way. And increasingly now, I take a step back when Phil says use a particular medium and I look at... ...I think, well, actually how do I want to interpret that? But that's a measure of my i increasing confidence. This is pen & ink and watercolour. I didn't do this with Phil, but I did it because of the confidence I gained with Phil. I think if I had not kind of understood much more about tone and depth and contrast, I'm not sure I would have known how to tackle that kind of an image and I was really pleased with how effective it was, the way the perspective worked. This was just a fun thing I did with pen and watercolour and ink of our dog. I love the fact that I could do the foreshortening. I did it after we kind of did a similar thing with a truck. And it looks like her and I started doing commissions for people. Now, either they've asked me to do portraits or they've asked me to do pet pictures and stuff, which is really nice.
Before starting Draw Awesome, what was your level of art experience?
Lyn: Yes, so before joining Draw Awesome I had done... I've been doing art... sort of day classes and I have a really good tutor there. He's brilliant, but he's also obviously working with a class full of people and it's going at the pace he goes at and you have a limited amount of time. So that sometimes meant you were left with pieces that were unfinished or you needed some support in a particular place and and there wasn't... ...he didn't have time to provide that. As I say, he's really good teacher - - knows what he's doing. And I also wanted to kind of challenge myself in particular areas and I didn't feel I was kind of getting that from the the course I was doing at that time.
In what ways do you think Draw Awesome has helped you?
Lyn: Yes, so I have absolutely loved Draw Awesome and I've recommended it to lots of people. I'm certainly much, much better than I was. When Phil says at the beginning that it pays off if you put in the time on a regular basis, it's absolutely true. I've been... I've kind of stuck with it - it's difficult at times - - and sometimes you fall a week behind and then you catch up in a rest week, but but actually, the more you do, the better you get. I think the other thing is the Phil talks about meta skills. So I look back at stuff I was doing a year ago and I'm aware that my ability to observe, to interpret, to understand what I need to do to make a task happen, is so much better. So my art is better. And also I'm using mediums I wouldn't have used before... So I've totally fallen in love with working with coloured pencil. So yeah, it's been a really enjoyable process and it's given me a real structure to develop my skills. My drawing in particular is so much better.
Finally, what do you like most about Draw Awseome and would you recommend it to others?
Lyn: So, why am I doing this? Well, I suppose because I've benefitted so much from the Course myself and I have often said to people I've really benefitted. I think it's an amazing way of really developing your skills and hopefully more people do it, because if that's what you're looking for, it works really well. So, there's a big time commitment. I think there's no... ...you have to put the time in - - that makes the difference. But the video lessons are so clear. He's so good at explaining and showing and walking through it, that you can really see what you need to do. So sometimes, some of the projects, I've amazed myself with what I've done. We did one on cyclists that I thought there was no way I'm going to be able to do that, but you take it step by step and you use the lesson, - - you use the lessons that he teaches you and the tips that he gives you about how to approach stuff... ...actually go into other projects that you're doing outside. So yeah, Draw Awesome... Yeah, it's about understanding the power of observation, about how to use it effectively, about how to use that in structuring... ...the stuff he's done on composition was just invaluable. So yeah, I thoroughly recommend it and it's well worth the money.
