Speaker: Cheryl , USA
Cheryl : Hello my name is Cheryl and I'm from Texas.
Can we see some examples of the artwork you've done with Draw Awesome?
Cheryl : I'll share some of the projects that I really enjoyed this year so far with Draw Awesome. The first one is eyes with graphite pencil and I was so impressed that I was able to follow the instruction well and get this level of detail on this project - that was really amazing. And then this is the elephant we did in the charcoal lesson and I just love this elephant. He was so much fun and Phil made it looks hard, but Phil made it really easy. And pastel pencil I think is another one that I just really enjoyed. This little girl blowing bubbles. ...And I took this class - I started doing pastel portraits of pets for friends and family and that's going really well! So... and then these are a couple of the watercolour and pen and ink drawing that really turned out well. I love the combination of two different mediums and Phil walks you through that too as you go along in the class. So it's been really fun.
Before starting Draw Awesome, what was your level of art experience and what did you struggle with?
Cheryl : Before starting Draw Awesome, I had been a set artist for theatres and I had taken classes in acrylic and oil painting with a palette knife - and I really loved doing those things. I love colour... I love colour theory. I love mixing the colours. And that was a lot of fun. But I got to a point in my art where, because I had never taken a drawing class in school, I became frustrated because I had to find the image I wanted and transfer it to my canvas or whatever I was painting, with a projector or a grid method and it didn't feel like the art was coming out of me. And I knew that to really move forward in my painting, I had to develop better drawing skills.
How do you think Draw Awesome has helped you?
Cheryl : I definitely feel like I have improved immensely, taking Draw Awesome. Friends and family have looked at my sketchbook and just commented on how much is done and done well, that it really feels like a sense of accomplishment and a sense of improvement. And I'm really happy with the sketchbook that I've got filled up so far. So, out of the mediums that we did in Draw Awesome, I think the one I was most hesitant about was the pen and ink because it felt like I couldn't erase it, but it looked really hard. I tried it - - it was awesome! It was really good. So everything has been... the charcoal, the coloured pencils, the pastel pencils, the graphite lessons - - every single one. The watercolours even, have been amazing and a joy! Phil's a really great teacher. He's easy to listen to and every week I just look so forward to my next Draw Awesome lesson coming out and can't wait to do it. So I would definitely say Draw Awesome has changed how I used to look at drawing. It was more like a necessary step that I had to get through in order to get to the fun part of painting. And now I just think drawing is fun. It's really enjoyable and relaxing and stress-relieving and I love it!
Finally, what do you like most about Draw Awesome and would you recommend it to others?
Cheryl : Some of the things that I really love about Draw Awesome is how the Course is so well organized. You see the syllabus and you can see where you're going and how far you have left to go and how consistent it is, as far as building on skills as you go through. You're starting with something that's pretty basic and simple and as you go, you're building on those skills and really practicing all the way through. I definitely would recommend this to people who are just starting out with art for the very first time. It's great for beginners and people who have been doing art for a long time and just want to explore new techniques, new mediums, new ways of doing things and improve their drawing skills. So definitely I would recommend it!
