You Can Draw !

I am the vine, ye are the branches:

He that abideth in me, and I in him,

the same bringeth forth much fruit:

for without me ye can do nothing.

- John 15: 5

Lesson Two  Pencil Sketching

Portrait

Before I went out sketching, I did a lot of imitation, but I never had the courage to go out. If I didn't draw well, others would laugh at me, and I wasn't a professional artist, I thought.

In Africa, I met a group of friendly young Christians. They took me to their church, we met and sang, we went outreach together. I also showed them the imitation I did.

Once while I was showing them my drawings, Harold, one of the brothers, came sit in front of me, and said, "Can you draw a portrait for me?"

"I am afraid I can't, I have never drawed from life!" I said diffidently.

But he seemed to have more confidence in me than myself, "You can make it! You can draw imitation so well, of course you can draw me!"

He put on a pose. So I had to take out paper and pencil and began to draw despite myself. Soon, I finished and showed it to them. Everybody said it was Harold himself, only looked a bit younger!

Since then, I dared to draw from life.

These portraits were drawed while I was in Africa. Aren't they not bad?

So after you have done some imitation, you can take the step to draw from life.

Landscape Sketching

Though I dared to draw portraits, for a long time I was still afraid to draw landscape from life. I was afraid of being laughed at if I didn't draw well.

Once, my father, in order to encourage me,  went out with me.

We went to a riverside park. In the distance we could see a long bridge, under which flew the bluish river water, now and then steam boats drove to and fro. Behind the bridge we could see mountains standing one after another, in different shades of green and blue.

Taking a seat on the grass, facing the blank paper, I felt never so nervous and scared. I kept changing mind, but no matter how I felt it was not good. An hour had elapsed, but I still hadn't even drawed a line.

I began to feel dizzy baked by the beaming sun.

"Hey, since I have come out, let me draw something anyway! Even if I mess up everything and have to throw this paper away, no one is coming to cut my head off!" I comforted myself and stroked a long line across the paper.

"This is the bridge." I thought. Somehow, after drawing this line, my fear disappeared. Quickly I put down the mountains, the banks, the river and the boats.... After a while I finished the drawing and showed it to Father.  He said, it was not bad. I also thought it was quite nice.

Since then I grew bolder and bolder when I came out sketching.

Here are some of the landscape sketchings I made with pencils.