Speaker: Elaine , UK
Elaine : Hello. I'm Elaine I come from England and a little place called Saltburn, in the Northeast.
Can we see some of your Draw Awesome artwork that you're most pleased with?
Elaine : This is one of the drawings I did with Draw awesome, within the charcoal medium, which I'm really pleased with and everybody wants to put it on their wall. But they can't because it's in my file and they can't have it! This is the one I tried to do on my own. I think this is coloured pencil. But it doesn't... ...I don't think it has the depth and has a few issues with the face, I think, but that was something I tried myself. And this is the one I did with Phil in the Draw Awesome, which I think has got... ...it's just so much more depth in the colours. And this one's the pastel drawing I did with Phil's help, which I think is really lovely. So I might even frame that one. I'm so pleased with it. But yeah, I think I can see a big difference in my ability and like, my family can see a difference too. And they like, look forward to seeing what I've done each week. My son phoned me the other day, I said, "I can't speak to you now because I'm drawing in here"! Anyway, that's what I've been up to.
Before starting Draw Awesome, what was your level of art experience and what did you struggle with?
Elaine : Just to tell you what I've been up to. I've been trying to draw, on and off, for the last, maybe, 10 years, in amongst working full time and being a Mum, all of that kind of thing. But my interests are varied. I've probably tried most mediums apart from oil, but I really...I've really enjoyed it and I think what Phil's lessons teach is to improve on the skills you've already gained. But I think even if you were starting from scratch, you'd still learn an immense amount. And I feel that, over the last 10 years on and off really, I've been doing Youtube videos and DVds and books and trying to learn from those. But what those lack is the step by step guidance that Phil offers in his programme, which has been a real benefit to me.
How do you think Draw Awesome has helped you?
Elaine : I think I've improved in quite a few different areas. I've never tried charcoal before, doing Phil's Course and probably would have shied away from it thinking I'd make a right mess. But actually I found it's quite a nice medium to work with and you get some really, really good results.
Elaine : I have tried other things. I think the thing I struggled with quite a bit was getting the angles right and Phil's tip about using your pencil and placing against the thing you're trying to draw and then putting on the paper and then your angles get better. It's a really easy way of learning how to get things in the correct angle really. The other things that I've really enjoyed is... ...one of the things I'd like to do, is portrait drawing, which I've had a few goes at in different mediums and the little girl with bubbles. I was really pleased with that because I looked back on the previous drawing I've done and I don't know whether it's the same girl. But you can see the difference in my previous - my own efforts - to the one that I've done with Phil's teaching and it's quite a big difference in it. And so I'm quite pleased with my progress overall.
Finally, what do you like most about Draw Awesome and would you recommend it to others?
Elaine : So what do I like about Phil's teaching? It's a step by step guidance and even he even helps with the technology downloading and it's easy instructions to follow and I look forward to each week and each challenge. And within each challenge you're working with different mediums. Which is nice to have a go at. And your part of really arty family. So you can put your work online and you can get feedback from other students which is really quite nice and you can even look at their work and think "Oh yeah, I think I would have changed it a little bit" Or, "That's a good idea". So all that kind of thing helps with what you're doing. Whereas if you sort of use work from books and just dvds you sort of, you don't get that sort of thing. It's just, I don't feel as if you get the same support. Anyway, I would recommend Phil's Course because it teaches you the delights of drawing and painting which, really, it's so good for your mental health and it just takes you away from the cares and worries. So if you could spend some time, you know, a few times a week or whenever you can, it does it does you a world of good and really if you spend some time drawing and painting you'll just end up sleeping like a baby. It's a brilliant thing to do!
