I’ve heard it said that every day you need half an hour of quiet time for yourself, or your Self, unless you’re incredibly busy and stressed, in which case you need an hour. I promise you, it is there. Fight tooth and nail to find time, to make it. It is our true wealth, this moment, this hour, this day.
Anne Lamott

Inspired by illustrations in Nya Fĺgelboken

I am not one of those cool people who enjoy drawing from life. I rarely draw really (I just do random doodling sometimes), and when I do it’s often what I find in my imagination, like the green bird I recently showed you. I envy those who fill their sketchbooks and journals with life like sketches, but I don’t strive to become one of them.

But all that said, sometimes it is fun to use still life, life, photographs, or other people’s images and try to draw something that is not already in your head. It is a challenge, especially if you don’t do it often, but also a very fun exercise! An exercise that expands and grows your ability to draw, to use your hands and yes, and to concentrate! For my own Yellow Bird I picked an illustration from my big book for birds, and tried to (kind of) copy the feather patterns. This is what I got:

Yellow Bird Friend
Yellow (a bit realistic, at least more real looking than I usually do) Bird. I like it!

To try give it a try: you pick an image and try to copy it. First the outer form, then details and the colours as best you can. No need to do an exact copy, just think of your picture as inspiration. Good luck!