art drawing journey

How to Draw: A Guide for the Absolute Beginner

By: Author Ammar

Posted on Last updated: February 26, 2024

Categories Basics

Hey, fellow art enthusiasts! As you can probably relate, learning to draw can feel overwhelming as a beginner. I started learning drawing about two years ago (time flies so fast! 😲), and it has been quite a journey so far, although not without challenges.

So, in this post, I am excited to share some insights, resources, and advice based on my experience to get you started on your journey to learn drawing. I hope this will help aspiring artists figure out what tools, skills, and resources they’ll need to learn drawing quickly and avoid some mistakes I made when I started out.

I have split this guide into five sections:

• The essential art supplies you’ll need.
• Some basic mark-making techniques.
• How to find references for your drawings.
• Demonstration of how to approach a simple drawing. You’ll absolutely have to draw along though (no ifs and buts).
• My favorite resources for learning art fundamentals.

So let’s get started! ✏️

5. Gather the most essential drawing supplies

Drawing is one of the least equipment-intensive hobbies and when you’re just starting out, the worst thing you can do is to get obsessed with getting new shiny art supplies all the time because when you go down that path you constantly doubt whether your lack of art progress is because of not having the right supplies or practice (which is the likely culprit from my experience).

One thing I learned the hard way is to start drawing with the most basic art supplies and gradually add or replace tools when you need to. Here’s everything you’ll need to get started:

• Pencils of different hardness . From my experience, something like an HB or 2H is perfect for outlines, and having only two softer pencils like a 2B paired with a 5B is more than enough to draw convincing values.
• An eraser . A kneaded eraser is also a nice addition.
• Plain white paper sheets like those used for printing . A cheap sketchbook is also okay as long as you don’t become obsessed with curating the perfect sketchbook like I did. Avoid papers with lines because those can be distracting for drawing.
• A blending stump is optional .

That’s about all I have worked with over the last couple of years, and I’m even using some of the same stuff I purchased last year to this day. If you don’t have all the supplies listed above yet, don’t let that keep you from starting drawing today. Improvise and work with what you already have!

One word of advice though (I hope I’m not sounding too preachy), as a beginner, it is probably better to learn drawing in monochrome and advance to colored mediums once you’re comfortable with the basics . Also, unless you already have a drawing tablet, it is better to start drawing with analog tools, which require a much lower investment. Only invest in digital drawing tools once you have some practice with traditional mediums .

4. Do some warmup exercises to practice basic mark-making skills.

There are two broad types of marks you draw on paper: first, the line work to mark the general shape or outline of your drawing subject, and secondly, shading to define the values in a drawing. But as beginners, we often lack control over the pencil, and that can interfere with our ability to draw confident marks on paper .

One quick warmup exercise to improve your line work is to place two dots on a piece of paper and connect them with a fluid pencil stroke . You can vary the positioning and spacing between the two dots to practice drawing straight lines confidently without a ruler. You can similarly practice drawing random curved lines, circles, ellipses, and boxes on a piece of paper to improve your hand-eye coordination and control.

To simplify the shading, you can focus on learning the parallel hatching technique first, which I think is the simplest way to shade for beginners. It involves drawing a series of lines in the same direction. You can choose which angle you want to shade based on what you’re most comfortable with. Being right-handed, It feels most natural for me to shade from the lower left to the upper right, and you can quickly figure out what angle works best for you.

Over time, you’ll explore different shading techniques like layering and contour hatching but it’s better to devote the initial few weeks of drawing to practice the parallel shading, which is relatively easier to master, and gain some confidence early in your drawing journey.

3. Find references to draw.

As a beginner, it is daunting to draw from life right from the start, so it is critical to know how to find good photo references online to ease yourself into drawing.

As a general rule, you want to find references with nice contrast and shapes that you find interesting. Also, if you want to learn portrait drawing, find references from strangers because opting for photos of your favorite celebrities can create unnecessary pressure to capture the likeness of the face as a beginner.

References don’t just need to be photos of real people or scenes from life. You can use paintings and drawings by other artists as a reference for your drawings too.

Pinterest is generally great for finding references in a specific style . If you’re looking for some inspiration, here are some Pinterest boards I have saved where you can find interesting references and ideas for your drawings.

It’s time for some practice! If you’re overanalyzing how to start drawing, just take the plunge and use the next 20 minutes to draw this pretty cat with me. It’s okay if you take slightly longer than that, but try not to fuss too much about creating the perfect drawing.

Instructions:

• Grab a paper, pencil, and an eraser, and give yourself 10 minutes to create an outline and another 10 minutes to shade the drawing .
• It’s best to place your device directly in front of you so you can draw the reference without lifting or turning your head . This makes it a lot easier to compare your drawing to the reference as you go along.
• Don’t think too much about what you’re drawing and focus on the shapes that you see .
• Pay attention to the proportions and angles between the different parts of the drawing . It’s helpful to occasionally step back and zoom out a bit to check proportions.
• It’s okay to draw over any pencil marks and make corrections using an eraser if necessary.
• Remember if a drawing is messy it is a sign that you’re learning something new .
• Be proud of your effort!

1. Resources to learn art fundamentals.

I think that while we are lucky to be living in an era where we can access world-class art education from the comfort of our homes, at the same time, navigating the sea of information can be overwhelming for beginners.

Here are some of my favorite courses and books for learning drawing fundamentals:

• Proko – An overall great fun resource for learning drawing basics irrespective of your art style or interest.
• Draw a box – super effective at learning perspective and constructive drawing.
• Chris Hong Skillshare Course – A nice tutorial for improving your portrait drawing.
• New Masters Academy – A comprehensive library of drawing fundamentals taught by leading art instructors like Glenn Vilppu and Steve Huston.
• Patreon tutorials by Loish – Great insights and tips especially for those wanting to learn drawing digitally.
• Art books by Andrew Loomis .
• Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards.
• Charles Bargue Drawing Course by Gerald Ackerman.

Friday 12th of April 2024

As an artist and educator I appreciate your excellent ideas and resources that you share. Your drawings are great, your ideas for relaxing and letting go are right on! Thank you for sharing your journey, great art and yay you for drawing for 2 years consistently.

Saturday 13th of April 2024

Thanks so much for your kind words Aviva! 😊 Knowing that people like you find my blog helpful just makes all the hard work all worth it. I'm so glad to have have made this far in my art journey and am excited by the thought of where I might be in a year or so. Thank you once again (you just made my day 😊)!

Harlow Bernard

Wednesday 28th of February 2024

We just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge all the hard work and effort you've been putting in lately. Keep up the amazing job, you're doing great!

Thursday 29th of February 2024

Thanks so much for your kind words! You made my day 😊

Learn How to Start Drawing – 22 Easy Tips to Get you Started!

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Last Updated on December 6, 2023 by Dee

• Do you want to start drawing, but are not sure how to begin?

Have you ever wondered how to start drawing? Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced artist, starting a new drawing can be daunting. But it doesn’t have to be!

With a little planning and some practice, anyone can learn how to draw. In this article, we’ll share 17 awesome tips to help you get started and enjoy drawing. So grab your pencils and paper, and let’s begin!

Table of Contents

Believe you can get there, don’t try to be perfect, drawing is about learning to see, choose your subject matter, practice shading techniques, copy drawings and paintings when you are learning to draw, take a drawing or art class, keeping a sketchbook, make drawing a habit, experiment with different mediums, understand value, understand the power of color, edges are important, understand light and shadow in drawing, practice drawing form, practice drawing proportions, draw from life, use a photo reference, understand perspective drawing, use drawing exercises to warm up, essential drawing materials to start drawing, explore drawing styles.

• [Download your Free 30 Days of Drawing Ideas below ⬇ ]

Can I teach myself to draw?

How do i begin to draw, what are the 5 basics of drawing, how can a beginner start art.

**This page may contain affiliate links to products I have used or recommend. If you purchase something from this page, I may receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you.** 

22 Tips to help you start Drawing

Drawing is the foundation of all art techniques. Before you can learn how to paint, sculpt or print you have to learn how to start drawing.

Drawing is how our brains translate thoughts to images on paper and so it is an incredibly important skill in the creative process.

Follow these 22 tips to start building your sketching skills…

Starting to draw can be a very nerve-racking activity especially when you believe that you can’t draw. I have encountered so many people who really believe they can’t draw. This is a very self-limiting belief.

If you believe you can’t do something, well, then you can’t. However, the truth is, everyone can draw.

Yes, some people are born with an innate ability to render form and shape in a highly expressive or realistic manner. Just because you don’t have the same level of skill (yet), doesn’t mean you can’t get there!

I have taught many students over the years who came into my classroom believing they truly could not draw. The first step in helping someone to move through their anxiety around drawing is to get them to believe in their own potential.

We all have potential!

This is the most important step when learning how to draw. Believe that you can and that your skill will improve.

Try to focus on the drawing process. Perfectionism is the thief of creativity and often is the reason people don’t continue or even don’t start drawing.

The truth is drawing is like any other skill. If you want to learn how to start drawing – you have to be determined and practice, practice, and practice some more. Be gentle with yourself and keep at it every day.

[Related article: How to create the illusion of depth in art ]

Learning to draw is an interesting concept because it’s not about ‘learning to draw’, it’s about learning to SEE. In other words, we have to start really looking at our subject with new, fresh eyes.

Once you start looking at things as though you have never seen them before, then you start translating them into a drawing and the magic begins.

Looking closely at your subject matter while drawing gives you a far deeper understanding of the material world.

Observational drawing is the key to learning how to start drawing and improving your skills.

You don’t have to be an artist

This is a common misconception that you have to have some sort of innate talent in order to be able to draw. The truth is, anyone can learn how to draw – regardless of whether or not you consider yourself an ‘artist’.

Yes, it takes time and practice to get better at drawing, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can definitely learn how to start drawing.

[Related article: How to Draw a Background]

There is an infinite amount of subject matter you can choose from for your drawing. You can draw from your imagination, or from a real object, in real life. You also don’t have to stick to the classical subject matter – go ahead and start a unicorn drawing, or a giraffe drawing! Many established artist began by simply drawing cartoon characters!

A very good subject matter to start with is copying a drawing from a master artist like Da Vinci or Michelangelo. This exercise gives you a good understanding of the language or drawing and will give you insight into what and how the artist sees.

By looking at the master’s drawings, you get a good sense of how they use lines in their works and how they create shadows and textures.

Da Vinci, Head of a Young Woman

I often find that drawing from real life can be very exciting. Take your sketchbook with you wherever you go and sometimes draw outdoors. Whether you are waiting in a queue or sitting on a bench you will find some lovely subject matter to inspire you.

If you are stuck on ideas you can follow an art challenge and get prompts to help inspire your drawings.

“Drawing is an incredibly therapeutic activity which has huge benefits in managing anxiety, stress, and depression. Whatever your reason is, it is an excellent way to start your creative journey..”

[Related: 101 Cool Designs to Draw]

There are many techniques that people use in drawing to create expressive lines or shadows.

You might use the hatching or cross-hatching technique in your shadow areas of a building say for instance. Draw your lines closer together in order to create a darker, deeper shadow. To create a lighter effect, draw your lines further apart.

Blending/ grading is where people hold their pencil ‘flat’ on the page in order to create a smooth texture.

The more pressure you put on your pencil, the darker the shaded area is. This is often used to draw subject matter with a very smooth surface – like facial features or ceramics.

Stippling is a great technique that can be used to create highly detailed drawings. This technique tends to take up a lot of time, but the results are often beautiful.

Be careful when using the stippling technique when drawing faces – you don’t want it to look like your subject has a rash!

Scribbling is a fun way to create really expressive lines in your drawing. Start working in figure eights that overlap one another. The more they overlap the darker the shaded area will be. To create lighter areas, you loosen up your scribbling.

I have found the best way to use shading techniques is to find which combinations work well together. I often use a bit of blending combined with cross-hatching or stippling in order to give my drawings an expressive but structured feeling.

Once again, this also depends on the style you are going for.

Tip: Place a piece of paper between your hand and the drawing in order to prevent smudging your work!

When starting out in any new skill it’s a good idea to copy the work of other artists. Practice will help you learn the proportions and techniques used by the artist.

It will also help train your eye to see what makes a good drawing.

You can copy any type of artwork including sketches, portraits, landscapes, or still lives.

When copying a work, be sure to study it closely. Look at how the artist uses shape, shadow, and line.

A great way to learn different drawing techniques and build your sketching skills is by taking a drawing or art class.

This will give you access to different resources and techniques that a professional artist might use.

It’s a good idea to keep all your drawings and experimentation in a sketchbook – over time you can watch how you have explored and grown in your drawing skills.

As you learn and practice new techniques, be sure to keep track of your progress by sketching in a sketchbook.

Sketching out ideas, practicing shading, and copying other artists’ work can all be tracked in a sketchbook. This will help you see your progress over time and give you inspiration for future

You may even find that new ideas develop from the drawings you have already completed.

Related article: The Ultimate List of 50 Fun Things to Draw When Bored!

To get better and improve your drawing you need to make it a habit.

That doesn’t mean you have to spend hours every day on it, but try to make it a regular creative outlet for you to build your sketching skills.

Explore and experiment with different mediums. This means you should draw lines with pencil, charcoal, ink, pen, pastel, coffee, and basically anything you can make a mark with.

Value is a term that refers to the lightness or darkness of an item. We can use value to give depth and perspective to a drawing. Shading a sphere is one of the most common ways we may practice value as artists!

Colour has a strong emotional impact on a drawing – bright and vivid, dark and somber, and so on. Color can be utilized to call attention to certain parts of the image by accentuating them.

Edges can provide a wealth of data about a subject. They can indicate the strength of a light source and where it is coming from, how clear the weather is, how essential the object is in the composition, whether the item is in focus or in the background, and how far away it is.

When it comes to shading, the use of light and dark can create an illusion of depth and volume. Understanding how light and shadow work is key in creating realistic drawings.

Form is the three-dimensional shape that an object takes and learning to see and draw form accurately is essential for realistic drawings.

By understanding form, you can create the illusion of depth and volume in your drawings.

Gesture drawing is a great way to improve your understanding of the human form and movement. Gesture drawing is the act of quickly sketching out the basic lines of a figure to capture its movement or posture.

Incorrect proportions can make a drawing look amateurish. It’s important to practice accurately drawing the proportions of a subject in order to create a realistic and believable image.

Take a drawing session outside! The best way to improve your drawing skills is by practicing from life. This means drawing simple objects, people, or scenes from nature that you see right in front of you.

Working from reference photos is undoubtedly the quickest way to improve your skills is by using a photo reference.

A photo reference is a photo of an object or scene that you use as a guide while drawing.

This will help you train your eye to see the details and nuances of an object and will give you a better understanding of light and shadow.

One of the most important aspects of creating realistic drawings is understanding perspective. Perspective drawing is the technique that helps us create a sense of depth in our images.

There are different types of perspective, but one of the most common is linear perspective. This is the kind that uses lines to create a sense of distance and recession.

Drawing exercises to follow…

There are many different drawing exercises that you can try out to start warming up.

• A great exercise to try is drawing with your non-dominant hand.
• Turn your reference image upside down.
• Try to draw with your eyes closed.
• Fill a whole page with different lines of thickness.
• Draw stick figures
• Drawing cartoons

The goal of drawing exercises is to help you get a feel for making marks on the paper. It is important that you play and enjoy the learning process.

‘Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain ’ by Betty Edwards is a fantastic book that has several drawing exercises for you to try. In fact, it is considered one of the best books on how to improve your drawing skills!

[Have a look at my curated list of the Best Drawing Books for Artists]

You can choose to draw with pencil, crayon, pastel, markers, or anything that makes a mark on a surface really. You can also choose to draw on anything from paper to cloth. This really depends on your preferences once again and it’s important that you experiment.

[Related: Anime Pose Reference ]

It is a good idea to try out a variety of different materials in order to find ones that suit you and your style. 

​If you want an easy starting point then just start with a very simple range of supplies. You can do a wide range of drawing with just the basics.

Traditional materials for starting to draw:

• Three different pencil grades (usually HB, 2B, and 6-8B) The H grade is mostly only used for when you are starting to draw your outlines very lightly.
• Drawing/sketching paper or sketchbook.
• Soft rubber eraser

[Read my article on choosing the Best Drawing Erasers ]

• Basic metallic sharpener

These are optional but are great to have as your drawing skills improve and you want to extend your techniques:

• Blending stumps or tortillons    
• Kneaded eraser (this is an awesome tool that you can manipulate to get into smaller areas)
• Drawing board

Digital Drawing Tools

If you are a graphic designer, or just enjoy working with creative technology, it can be really easy to create a realistic drawing on your PC, laptop, tablet, or phone.

I enjoy drawing on my iPad using my Apple Pencil and Procreate. I love drawing digitally as well as traditionally!

Digital painting is similar to digital drawing, but with the use of more painterly mark-making.

I was surprised at how much drawing on my iPad felt like actual drawing and I absolutely love the feeling of it.

There are many different styles of drawing that you can try. If you have started drawing and have developed a personal style, a fun challenge is to choose a new drawing style to expand your sketching skills!

[Related article: How to Trace on Procreate in 11 Easy Steps!]

Line drawing or Contour Drawing

Line Drawing is literally just drawing your subject matter using line and no shading. You can use contour lines and outlines to define your shapes and forms. Artists often enjoy doodling using contour lines.

Abstract drawing

Abstract drawing is a style where you draw from your imagination. Your image is non-figurative, meaning that it doesn’t look like anything recognizable. Many people find this a very liberating type of drawing.

[Related article: 18 Texture Drawing Examples to Help You Get Inspired: How to Draw Texture]

Anime and Manga Drawing

Anime drawing is a style based on Japanese animation. It involves using black outlines, stylized shapes, and flat tones.

Photorealism

Photorealism is when an artist draws an image to such a height of realism that one might think it was a photo. Artists like Chuck Close use very mathematical methods in order to achieve this level of realism.

Expressive Drawing

Expressive drawing is using lines and tone to create emotionally expressive drawings. This style often involves movement or action of sorts.

Architectural Drawing

Architectural drawing is the technical drawing of a house or building using very straight lines and geometrical devices. The drawing must be able to be recreated in reality and so there must be a high level of accuracy.

Urban Sketching

Urban sketching is a form of drawing where an artist captures the scenery and objects of urban spaces in their sketches. They often work quite quickly and may include a pen and watercolor in their drawings.

Check out this video on how to start Urban Sketching …

[Related Article: 11 Tips on How to Improve Your Drawing!]

[ Download your Free 30 Days of Drawing Ideas below ⬇ ]

Frequently asked questions about how to start drawing ….

Yes, you can definitely teach yourself how to draw. There are a number of great books and online resources that can help you get started.

Whichever way you want! You can start with line drawings, abstract drawings, anime drawings, or photorealistic drawings. It really depends on what you are interested in and what your level of skill is.

Understanding edges, spaces, light and shadow, relationships, and the whole, or gestalt, are the five components of drawing. When all five basic skills of drawing are combined, they form the elements of a completed artwork.

[Related article: 121 Fun and Easy Objects to Draw ]

There are a lot of different ways that a beginner can start art. You can take an art class, join an art group, or find a mentor. Practicing regularly and keeping a sketchbook to track your progress is also important.

If you have been wondering how to start drawing, these 22 tips will help get you to get going. Remember to practice and experiment with different techniques to find what works best for you.

Draw from life whenever possible, and don’t be afraid to challenge yourself. The more you draw, the better you will become. What are you waiting for? Start sketching!

Other articles you may enjoy…

136 Drawing Ideas for Adults

How to Improve Your Digital Creations | 22 Digital Painting Tips

Looking for things to draw on your hand? 50 Easy drawing ideas

Sitting Drawing Reference | 18 Free Poses to Help You with Figure Drawing

3 Simple Steps to Outline Drawing

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12 Easy Steps to an Accurate Side Profile Drawing

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2 thoughts on “Learn How to Start Drawing – 22 Easy Tips to Get you Started!”

Thank you so much for providing all these helpful tips and the guides, I can’t tell you how useful they have been for a complete beginner like myself! Your guides are really clear and easy to follow, and give great results – thanks again!

I am so glad to hear that you have found them helpful! Feel free to let me know if there is anything else you would like me to write about 🙂

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How To Start Drawing As A Hobby

For me, getting started drawing arose out of two things. I was in a situation where I was agonizingly bored and I wanted to get better at painting.

So I reluctantly started drawing again for the first time in over 10 years. I quickly realized the value of being able to exercise my craft anywhere and anytime. I became seduced by the feel of the pencil to paper.

Now that I’m drawing again it is beginning to take on a life of its own. Becoming its own obsession separate yet symbiotic with my painting ambitions.

So the first thing you need to do to get started drawing as a hobby is to figure out your why? What is going to motivate you to pick up the pencil and put it to paper?

Maybe you like superheroes and want to be able to create your own comics. Perhaps you’ve always been drawn to sketches of people or animals. Maybe it’s anime that moves you.

I personally am inspired by many things but certainly would love to draw superheroes better. A friend of mine at work loves to draw anime characters. That was what got him started. Whatever the case is there is something that inspires you. You likely have some picture in your mind that you want to be able to create.

Something drove you today from simply thinking about how to start drawing as a hobby to actually taking the first actionable step and running a search looking for advice.

Congratulations! You already have done the hardest part! That is simply taking the first step on your journey.

Let’s turn that first step into a series of steps leading you down your creative path!

Related Articles:

• How To Draw Everyday: Developing a Daily Sketchbook Habit
• Understanding The 12 Principles of Animation

How To Get Started Animating Today!

• The Benefits of Keeping an Art Journal
• How to Start Painting as a Hobby

What do you need to start drawing?

The cool thing about getting started drawing is all you truly need is a pencil and a sheet of paper. Which most people have in their homes already.

If you want to take it a bit more seriously though it really doesn’t cost that much to get a small graphite pencil set and a sketchbook like the ones pictured here. The pencil set and the sketchbook together maybe cost me twenty U.S. dollars. If that…

When choosing your sketchbook try to keep in mind that there are different qualities of paper that will result in different textures. Causing the shading of your pencil to look different. I’d recommend keeping it simple until you understand the basics better.

Other than the basic materials all you need is your inspiration and a reference to work from. Start with whatever motivated you to try to begin with.

There is a ton of free tutorials on youtube and step by step guides you can follow. All that matters is you get started right now while you have the momentum you have built up by taking action searching for advice on how to start drawing.

Draw anything. The fundamentals don’t matter yet. What matters at this point is breaking the inertia.

How To Improve Your Drawing Skills Fast

So you’ve finally drawn something and you hate it. You think it looks ugly and that you suck. Well… it probably is and you probably do. I mean just look at my first works. They make me want to puke! Yuke!

It is perfectly normal to feel that way about your first drawings too. You still did what you wanted to do. You accomplished something. You created something. That deserves to be celebrated!

Not only that, once you get started you’ll begin to notice things you are having difficulty with. Things that you aren’t quite satisfied with.

Now take that specific dissatisfaction and use it! Maybe you drew a face and the eyes came out weird. Study eyes. Look up how to draw eyes. Then draw a page full of them!

This my friend, is how we get better. You have to push through the bad drawings to get to the good ones.

Be conscious of where you have difficulty and be curious to learn more about it. Then challenge yourself to strengthen your self-identified weakness. The key is to find pleasure in the challenges. Rather than getting frustrated and beating yourself up, realize that with every small detail you correct your results will get better.

You’re motor control will get better. Your visual library will be built piece by piece.

You also don’t have to show anyone any drawings you’re not satisfied with. They’re for you. Your own growth and development. That said, a crucial part of that growth and development is exposing your work to criticisms. I would rather encourage you to be proud to show your art to others and be receptive to feedback.

It is also fun to keep them and look back on them later. Helpful too I might add.

Sometimes you can put in a lot of work on something and feel like you’re not improving until you look back at where you started. Then you see you have improved a significant amount.

On that note, be sure to date all of your work to better help see and measure this progress!

You can also keep a nice archive by posting your work online on Instagram.

Start Studying the Fundamentals

Once you have gotten started drawing you have to push yourself. While the method described above is one way to do that it should eventually lead you to discover certain fundamentals of art.

You have to try and study the fundamentals of shape and form. Don’t just draw mindlessly. Don’t just replicate the artwork of others.

If all you are doing is looking up superhero characters on Pinterest and drawing them you will inadvertently be inheriting the anatomy and perspective errors of others.

Study perspective, atmospheric perspective, and shading. Study anatomy and figure drawing if you want to get good at character design.

Just take it one step at a time using the method I described above and allow one thing to lead to the next.

When you find you’re having trouble drawing a good sphere, look up content on how to draw spheres. Then follow the steps and put the advice to practice. This is how we practice consciously and can make the most progress.

Another great option to learn the fundamentals of drawing is by taking the course on Skillshare where I first learned them. I am a HUGE fan of Skillshare and highly recommend anyone in creative pursuits give the free trial a go!

Plus, Brent Eviston’s series of courses on “The Art and Science of Drawing” that I link to here, is truly an excellent course to get you started down the right path!

Beyond that, I have used Skillshare to learn about pattern making in procreate, how to use procreate, how to setup a print on demand etsy shop, audio editing, video editing…the list goes on and on. If you are interested, sign up by clicking the banner below! I can get you your first two months FREE and you will be helping to support the growth of this website!

Whether you choose to sign up for something like Skillshare or not, all that matters is that you keep going. Mix what you’re studying with what you want to draw as well. Be sure to work the things you have already studied into new works.

You want to get to a point where you have practiced so much that the things you used to have trouble start to become second nature to you. You just do them correctly without even thinking about it.

Break Your Vision Down Into Pieces

I honestly don’t even think of it as practice most of the time. I just am thinking about how I want to be able to render this one particular aspect better.

If I have a particular vision I want to create, I often find I need to break it down into parts and practice individual pieces of the picture before I put it all together.

Take this galaxy painting as an example, I want to add something more to it. So I have been doing a number of things to figure out exactly what.

I knew I wanted to do something that would display some sort of evidence of intelligent life. So I started experimenting by taking a picture and dabbling with some options in Procreate.

Now I know this is a painting but follow me through on this. What you see above was just the start of many options I went through.

I still haven’t yet decided on how exactly I want to finish it out but I am getting to a point where I’m just going to pick something and go with it.

Here are all the various spaceships I have drawn both digitally and in my sketchbook in an attempt to figure out the right one to paint.

When I finally do finish this painting I will post it so you can see what I ended up going with. This is just one example though of why I got into the hobby of drawing to begin with, what I do to ensure I’m progressing and how I utilize it to improve my paintings.

I hope that my approach to it helps you get going on your new hobby!

Now enough surfing the web! Go draw something right now!!!

Marc Spagnuolo

Hey there! Thanks for reading my article! I'm Marc the creator of this website. I'm a growing artist and web creator seeking to share what I'm learning in the hopes that it helps someone out there like you. I hope you found this information useful. If you're interested in learning more about me and my story click on my name or on my picture!

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Want to see where this curriculum can get you? Find this page useful and want to pledge some support for a fellow artist? My new comic "Prisoners" is now available on Gumroad. Thanks!

Radiorunner's curriculum for the solo artist

A curriculum built for the self-taught artist looking for structure and direction.

Based on a design and concept by RadioRunner . Handcoded by Brendan Meachen . Released because I wanted an easy resource for myself and I thought the community might benefit.

• Figure drawing

Perspective I

• Composition & storytelling I
• Anatomy I - head
• Anatomy II - torso

Perspective III

• Anatomy III - arms
• Clothed figure drawing
• Colour & light I

Perspective IV

• Anatomy IV - legs
• Intro to animals

Perspective V

• Color & light II
• Character design
• Composition & storytelling II

Perspective VI

• Anatomy V - imagination

Perspective VII

• Environment design I
• Environment design II
• Anatomy VI - caricature / animal

Painting II

• Painting III - matte painting
• Personal project

Certified advice by moderndayjames

"Make sure that you're learning is balanced, and takes you where you want to go.

Your art journey is similar to learning music: if you only learn the scales and theory, then you understand the rules. But that doesn't mean you can make enjoyable music from what you know. At the same time, if you don't know any rules of music, you may just be making trash.

There's middle ground in there, where you know just enough to get you to where you want to go, while still breaking boundaries and exploring cool things spontaneously (like accidentally playing a modal scale in a different key).

So - if you only learn the rules of your art, you won't know how to explor it creatively. If you only focus on creative exploration, you won't learn how to create effectively within the rules of your artform."

Play with child-like wonder

Do what pleases you from time to time, and draw what you like. Practice composition, new techniques, and new mediums. Explore what you learn with personal projects.

Observe like a painter

Sculpt your images. Practice shape design (painting, expressive pencil drawing). Watch and listen to Marco Bucci and Sinix to elarn more.

Think like a draftsman

Balance the rest by studying hard principles to elevate your creative exploration. Watch and listen to Scott Robertson , Feng Zhu , and Kim Jung Gi to elarn more.

Navigating the curriculum

The curriculum is based on the struture of Marc Brunet's "ARTSchool", so if you like it you may want to check out his own course. Overall however, the Solo Artist curriculum has a much higher emphasis on

Perspective and Draftsmanship

You may find the subject material front unit to unit seemingly random. This is by design - so that you don't go mad driling perspective for 2 months at a time.

If you want to swap a unit or term around feel free to do so. This is merely a guide for a structural approach to self-teaching.

The intended purpose is to balance a foundation of technical perspective and creative learning, so that you may learn to draw anything from imagination.

2 years and 3 months

is how long you should expect to stick with the Solo Artis curriculum

9 terms in total

3 units per term

4 weeks per unit

Feel free to divide this curriculum to take however long you'd wish. I've planned it this way to provide a tangible structure for how long to stay on each unit before moving on.

The curriculum

Figure drawing i.

Figure drawing Fundamentals, Proko Premium

• Proko Figure Drawing fundamentals
• Love Life Drawing

"Figure drawing for all it's worth" Andrew Loomis

30 days of Croquis Cafe Gesture Sessions (Vimeo)

Do the gesture challenge concurrently with the figure drawing course. In the early stages, learning the flow of gesture is the most important thing - it prevents stiffness in your drawings

Drawabox.com Lessons 0-3

• Introduction to Perspective, Marshall Vandruff
• "Perspective Made Easy", Ernest Norling
• "Fundamentals of Perspective", Gary Myers

Drawabox.com

• 250 Box Challenge
• 250 Cylinder Challenge

Drawabox is a dense course, and important for your foundation in draftsmanship. If anything, extend the length of this unit and cut the next one short. The 250 box challenge follows Lesson 1, going into Lesson 2.

Composition & Storytelling I

Creative Composition, SVSLearn

• Aaron Blaise: Methods for pleasing compositions
• moderndayjames: Composition 1
• Sycra: Effective Composition Using Shapes
• Blender Guru: Composition
• "Framed Ink", Marcos Mateu-Mestre

Thumbnail 50 favourite movie scenes

Watch Sycra's video "Iterative Drawing" and iterate on 5 compositions, 10x each

SVSLearn is available through a monthly subscription. Sycra's video on "iterative Drawing" is a great one to learn how to challenge yourself to create variations - whether they're good or bad.

Anatomy I - The Head

Understanding & painting the head, Marco Bucci

• Proko: The Loomis Method
• Proko: Portrait Drawing Fundamentals
• Sinix: Anatomy Quick Tips
• New Masters Academy
• Constructive Head Drawing, Steve Huston
• The Frank Reilly Drawing Method, Frank Reilly

Ahmed Aldoori's 100 head challenge

If you have access to physical / traditional painting you could consider it here in the second half of Marco Bucci's course. Otherwise continue to focus on pencil. Andrew Loomis, Frank Reily, and Steve Huston are highkly recommended to learn once you become a little more comfortable with head construction.

Perspective II

Drawabox.com Lessons 4-7

• Perspective 1
• Perspective 2
• Perspective 6

Drawabox.com 100 Treasure Chest challenge

Rotate 50 boxes and 50 cylinders

For Drawabox assignments do not focus on finished drawings. The main priority is to exercise your understanding of form and construction. Challenge yourself to begin rotating forms.

Anatomy II - The Torso

Anatomy of the Human Body for Artists (Torso), Proko Premium

• Proko: Torso Anatomy Series
• "Figure Drawing for All it's Worth", Andrew Loomis
• "FORCE: Dynamic Life Drawing", Mike Mattesi
• Glenn Vilppu or Steve Huston , w/ New Masters Academy

100 exagerated gestures

• Draw the gesture of a reference
• Mannequenise it
• Draw a new exagerrated pose based on mannequin

After going through anatomy, look up some FORCE gesture videos on TouTube (Proko has good interviews). Learn how to exagerate gesture beyond your reference pose. This is helpful to stretch drawing from your imagination, and avoid stiff drawings.

"How to Draw", Scott Robertson

• Perspective 3
• Perspective 4
• Perspective 5

Drawabox.com 25 wheel challenge

Rotate 50 boxes & 50 cylinders

"How to Draw" is the artists perspective Bible. It's especially good if you want to draw inorganic objects, but still important regardless! moderndayjames covers some great topics here - start rotating forms from imagination!

Anatomy III - The Arms

Anatomy of the Human Body for Artists (Arms), Proko Premium

• Proko: Arms Anatomy Series
• Elements of Character
• Anatomy of the Head
• Sketching the Head II

25 rotated heads

I think the challenges are especially important in this unit. Most artists will agree that hands and drawing people from imagination are difficult. It's important to face your weaknesses head on.

Clothed Figure Drawing

Clothing & Drapery w/ Glenn Vilpu, New Masters Academy

• Character Sketching I: Cloth & Drapery
• Cloth & Drapery II: Movement in Fabric
• Sinix: Clothing Folds and You
• Marc Brunet: How to Paint Folds

Cubebrush Artschool (w/ Brushboost Sub)

• Term 3, Clothed Figure Drawing

30 Day Clothed Figure Gesture Challenge

20 - 30 minutes

• 5x 1 minute
• 5x 2 minutes
• 3x 5 minutes or 1x 10 minutes sketches

Try all different kinds of fabrics. Different weights all fold differently. Satin is relective and light, it creases everywhere. Denim is matte and heavy, the folds are deeper and less frequent. you can get access to Cubebrush ARTSchool through it's monthly subscription, Brushboost.

Colour & Light I

"How to Render", Scott Robertson

• Light & Shadow: 10 Minutes to Better Painting
• Ambient Occlusion 1 & 2
• Proko: Shading Light & Form
• Fundamentals of Light, Sam Nielson

50 Still-Life Lighting Studies

• Examin lighting in drastically different setups
• Use a lamp and change the position over the subject

Learning the science behind light is most impotant here. When studying light focus primarily on the three main average values of the scene, and go more granular form there. Try thumbnailing instead of detailed drawings. you learn more through repeated attempts!

moderndayjames Visual Library

• Visual Library I
• Visual Library II
• Vehicle Sketching I
• Vehicle Sketching II
• Visual Library III - Drawing Mechs
• "Framed Perspective I: Technical Perspective and Visual Storytelling", Marcos Mateu-Mestre

For Mech Drawing

• SVSLearn - Drawing Robots & Machinery
• Term 6, Mech Design

100 Rotated Objects (based on mdj's Visual Library videos) or 100 Unique Studies (machinery, vehicles, Plants, Animals)

This is a key unit. Familiarise yourself with the techniques James teaches in these vidoes. Framed Pespective is good for learning how to apply perspective for setting a scene.

Anatomy IV - The Legs

Anatomy of the Human Body for Artists (Legs), Proko Premium

• Proko: Legs Anatomy Series
• Any previously recommended Anatomy courses

100 Studies of interacting characters - figure drawings of at least 2 figures interacting in a scene

The challenges here are both important. Feet are weird and require repeted study. Also there's not enough material out there that encourages drawing characters together. Focus on them making physical contact and doing actions together - kissing, hugging, picking things up, fighting, etc.

Intro to Animals

FORCE: Animal Drawing, Mike Matessi

Aaron Blaise (pick one)

• Wolves, Coyotes, and Foxes
• Animal Anatomy Bundle, moderndayjames

30 day Gesture Sessions of Anmals, change the type of animal each week.

• 4 legged animals
• aquatic animals
• flying animals
• big, small reqtilian, etc

You'll have had some animal drawing from Drawabox already. Try moderndayjames' GumRoad bundle to pursue more of a perspective route. Otherwise focus on the gesture of animals. Aaron Blaise is an absolute pro on gesture, and hs great character design tips. Pick your favourite animal and follow one of his courses.

"Framed Perspective II", Marcos Mateu-Mestre

• Vehicle Sketching III
• Vehicle Sketching IV
• Sketching Figures in Extreme Perspective
• 100 Extreme Perspectives
• 50 Vehicle Rotation Studies
• 50 Unique Vehicle Designs

You have two options here: focus on characters in perspective, or inorganic subjects (vehicles). Pick the one you prefer as the units primary focus.

Colour & Light II

"Colour and Light", James Gurney

• Understanding Colour
• Lighting Mastery Series
• Sycra: How to pick colours that work
• Colouring w/ Kurt: where do highlights go?
• Designing w/ Colour & Light, Nathan Fowkes
• Painting w/ Light & Colour, Tonko House & Cody Gramstead

150 Color Replication Studies

• Environments
• Character Designs
• Movie Frames

or 50 Color Variation Studies

• 50 subjects, drawn with 3X different colout palettes

James Gurney's book is the artist's Bible on colourt and light. The YouTube recommendations here are good too. For the challenges do mostly tuhmbnails - exercise picking colours accurately. For example different kinds of colour schemes and unique colours.

Character Design

Character Design w/ Aaron Blaise

• Marco Bucci: Character Design Mini Series
• Gesture Drawing, Alex Woo
• Fundamentals of Character Design, Stephen Silver
• Expressive Characters, Wouter Tulp

moderndayjames' 100 Expressions Challenge

50 Character Design variation Studies

• 50 subjects, 3 variations each

Both challenges are great here. If you haven't seen the practice before, look up silhouetting for character design (featured in Marco Bucci's series) - it's a good way to stretch your creative muscles.

Composition & Storytelling II

Pictorial Composition w/ Nathan Fowkes, Schoolism

• Composition I
• Sketching at a Distance
• WorldBuilding I, II, III
• Story-Driven Illustrations, Djamilia Knopf
• Lighting for Story & Concept Art, Sam Nielson

50 Compositions including figures

• 2 total variations
• Change colour, perspective, and composition

100 environment Colour / Composition Studies

• Pick movie shots that tell a story in a single frame

Focus on thumbnailing during the challenge. If you have time towards the end, pick some of your favourites and make more complete works based on them.

Krenz Cushart's Gumroad Bundle

• Draw a human Body in Perspective
• Rotate things in Perspective 1 & 2
• Control Angle & Proportion in Perspective
• moderndayjames: Emulating Even Amundsen Series

Draw 100 figures in perspective

Rotate 50 figures a full 360 degrees

Draw 50 compositions of figures in extreme perspectives

The moderndayjames vidoes are based on Krenz Cusharts's bundle. Make sure to do your rotations right - create the perfect perspective map first, and then try again from imagination

Anatomy V - Imagination

"Figure Drawing: Design & Invention", Michael Hampton

• Deciphering Bridgmans's Anatomy
• Deciphering Bridgman II
• Anatomical Shape Language
• Proko: How to study Bridgman
• "Constructive Anatomy", George B. Bridgeman

50 Character Designs

• 3 Variations each w/ varied anatomical proportions

or invent 100 Figure Poses

• 50 Calm Poses
• 50 Action Poses

Next level: Rotate these poses 3x each

Look up Proko's "Draftsmen" podcast, S1E10, "How to Learn Anatomy" and listen to thier thoughts on Bridgman before evaluating for yourself whether you want to learn from his book. Try the YouTube videos instead. Both Hampton and Bridgeman are experts however.

moderndayjames "Becoming a Gi" Series

• Dynamic Sketching 2, Peter Han

As many studies as possible from imagination

• Rotate subjects full 360 degrees
• Practice curvilinear perspective ("Becoming a Gi 3")
• Draw subjects in every angle ("Becoming a Gi 3")

One can only become a Gi through deliberate practice. Draw as many things from imagination as you can. If you're having trouble start with a construction, and then draw it again from memory.

Environment Design I

Art Camp 3, Noah Bradley

• FZDSchool - Environmental Thumbnails
• Environment Design, Nathan Fowkes

100 Landscape Thumbnails

• Create 1 deviation for each thumbnail: colour, shape design, biome, time of day, composition

Optional: Create 10 full works based on your thumbnails

Read Noah Bradley's "How I became an Artist" blogpost, and then his "Don't Go to Art School" post. Art Camp 3 will whip you into shape, don't skip it.

Environment Design II

Environment Design Course, James Paick (Gumroad) /a>

100 Environment Thumbnail Studies

• Make at least half feature figures, animals, or some additional subject

The general intended difference of this unit from the last is to focus more on architectural scenes - buildings, structures, sprawling cityscapes and intimate streets.

Digital Painting 1 + Brushwork Techniques, Marco Bucci

• Paint like a sculptor
• The best brush (for beginners)
• Proko: Make digital paintings look traditional
• Essentials of Realism, Jonathan Hardesty

50 value studies

50 colour studies

• Limit time to 60 minutes each

Optional: Develop traditional painting habits. Paint on only one layer, with no undo

Now we're getting into true-blue painting! If learning digitally, learn from traditonal paiting sources - creativity is bred through limitation. Limit yourself to a defined colour paletter, no layering, and disabling undo. if you want to learn traditional painting instead then go ahead!

Anatomy VI - Caricature / Animal

The Art of Caricature w/ Court Jones, Proko Premium

• FZDSchool: EP 62 - Real-time Creature Designs
• Austin Batchelor: Mixing 3 Animals into 1 Creature
• Creature Anatomy, Terryl Whitlatch
• The Art of Caricature, Jason Seiler
• Realistic Portraits, Jason Seiler

100 Caricatures

100 Animal Studies

50 Creature Designs (after completing at least 50 animal studies)

Choose your priority for this unit, caricature or animal drawing. Caricature will really help you learn exageration and character design, which will transfer into your normal day to day work. I've seen many recommend to learn the practice. Terryl Whitlatches "Creature Anatomy" Schoolism course looks top notch.

Digital Painting 2 & 3, Marco Bucci

• Intro to Gouache
• Digital Painting 1
• Digital Painting 2
• Digital Painting 3

50 Value Studies

50 Colour Studies

• Limit time for both to 60 minutes or less

Pick a focus of study - environments, portraiture, figures, full-scenes - or everything! You do you. Apply the recommended challenges to your main focus.

Painting III - Matte Painting

Art Camp: Enviroment Concept Design, Titus Lunter

• Cubebrush ARTSchool
• Term 9, Matte Painting
• Digital Painting, Craig Mullins

10 Matte Painting Studies (include Photobashing)

If you're unable to photobash, 10 Full Works of Normal Painting

Matte painting is a practice used in concept art to achieve photorealistic paintings quickly. While not for everyone, you may learn some good concepts for efficiency. If you don't want to learn phtobrashing, continue to paint full scene studies (from your favourite artist of movies).

Personal Project

"The Skillful Huntsman", Felix Yoon, Khang Le, Mike Yamada, & Scott Robertson

• FengZhu / FZDSchool
• Introduction to Visual Development w/ Victoria Ying
• Painting w/ Light & Colour, Dice Tsutsumi & Robert Kondo

3 Personal Projects

• Visual design
• Multiple perspectives
• Colour variations
• Character variations
• Environment variations

For your personal project, challenge yourself to conceptualise and visualise every aspect of your creative project. "The Skillful Huntsman" walks you through the entire process. It that's too grand in scope, apply the practices you learn to something like a cast of characters, species of animal, or locale.

• Ahmed Aldoori
• Austin Batchelor (if you use Procreate for iPad check him out)
• The Art of Aaron Blaise (legendary animator of Disney Studios)
• BAM Animation
• Blender Guru (specifically his series on Light and Colour)
• Bobby Chiu (creator of Schoolism)
• Brad Colbow (drawing tablet reviews)
• Brooke Eggleston's Character School
• Chris Oatley
• Croquis Cafe (gesture drawing sessions, mainly on Vimeo)
• Ctrl+Paint (learn to paint digitally)
• Dan Bradshaw Drawing Tutorials (draws like a printer, very Kim Jung Gi like
• Draw This (life-drawing resource)
• Draw with Jazza
• FZDSchool (Feng Zhu's concept art channel)
• Jake Parker (Creator of SVSLearn and Inktober)
• James Gurney (Master painter, creator of Dinotopia - learn physical painting here)
• James Julier (Bob Ross like landscape painting for Procreate on iPad)
• Colouring with Kurt (Comic book colourist, great tutorials on light and colour)
• Lucas Peinador
• LuluSketches
• Marc Brunet (Creator of Cubebrush ARTSchool)
• Marco Bucci (Learn Digital Painting w/ traditional methods)
• MikeyMegaMega (Anime tutorials)
• Moderndayjames (The source for perspective, imagination, and concept drawing)
• New Masters Academy (Vippu, Steve Huston, and Reilly all teach here)
• Noah Bradley (Art Camp 1, 2, and 3)
• Robert Marzullo (comic book style)
• Trent Kaniuga
• Sinix Design (Learn the painterly style)
• Uncomfortable (Drawabox.com)
• Will Terry (Creator of SVS Learn)
• Xia Taptara
• "Colour and light" by James Gurney
• "Imaginative Realism" by James Gurney
• "Constructive Anatomy" by George Bridgeman
• "How to Draw" by Scott Robertson
• "How to Render" by Scott Robertson
• "Figure Drawing: Design and Invention" by Michael Hampton
• "FORCE: Animal Drawing" by Mike Mattesi
• "FORCE: Character Design" by Mike Mattesi
• "FORCE: Dynamic Life Drawing" by Mike Mattesi
• "Framed Ink" by Marcos Mateu-Mestra
• "Framed Perspective" by Marcos Mateu-Mestra
• "Fun with a Pencil" by Andrew Loomis
• "Perspective Made Easy" by Ernest R.N.
• "The Skilful Huntsman" by Khang Le
• Vilppu Drawing Manual, by Glen Vilppu

Online Courses

• Aaron Blaise - CreatureArtTeacher.com
• Artstation Learning
• Foundation Drawing (Gumroad)
• Krenz Cushart (Gumroad)
• Moderndayjames (Gumroad)
• Proko Premium
• Society of Visual Storytelling
• The Techniques of Feng Zhu
• Watts Atelier Online

It's Easy To Draw

Learn how to draw and color anything.

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If you're new to drawing, we recommend starting with this course.

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Meet the artist.

Lisa Mitrokhin

Why study with me, learn technical skills.

You don't need to go to art school to be a skilled artist. I will teach you the science behind art so that you know how to take what's in your head and bring it to life.

Gain Useful Experience

Not all practice is created equal. My courses include lab work that helps you develop the mental and muscle memory for each specific skill. It's like working out but with less sweat.

Build Confidence

Art is the expression of the self. Once you have the skills and the experience, you'll be able to express yourself and know that it will come out right. You'll be unstoppable.

The AccessArt Drawing Journey for Children – Ages 5 to 7

<<< back to the accessart drawing journey for children <<<, welcome to the accessart drawing journey for ages 5 to 7 , if you are new to the drawing journey, start by building your understanding of what drawing can be using accessart pedagogy., follow on with drawing exercises open minds and introduce children to new ways of thinking about drawing and new skills. these should be repeated over time., give context and focus to drawing skills and help pupils own their creativity with drawing projects., finally, read about gentle ways to assess pupils., if you would like any further guidance pls email [email protected].

Drawing Journey for Ages 5-7

Pedagogy and understanding.

Build your understanding about what drawing is and the purposes it serves. 

Explore exercises which develop drawing skills, open minds, and can be practised over time.

Introducing materials.

Find resources exploring different drawing media.

Discover drawing projects which provide exciting ways to develop skills and understanding.

Inspiration.

Discover artists who draw.

Understand what assessment might mean in relation to drawing.

A Beginners Guide To Drawing And Painting

A s an artist with two decades of experience, I have traversed the disciplines of drawing, painting and conceptual art. In this journey, I’ve come to appreciate the work of masters, drawn inspiration from illustrators and uncovered the profound joy that art can bring to one’s life. Any form that excites you should be taken up and learnt with enthusiasm.

There are good starting points and drawing and painting what you see around you is a great start. So, I offer insights into materials and techniques to make the ride smooth.

Materials and tools

Pencils: Pencils serve as the initial and direct conduit between the mind’s eye and the blank page. For beginners, a set of graphite pencils ranging from 2H to 6B can provide versatility in shading and line work. Harder pencils (2H-2B) offer precision for fine details they are also lighter), while softer ones (4B-6B) allow for rich, expressive strokes (darker). Mark making is a very instinctive process and we do since childhood relive the freedom of scribbling. (I leave out powder shading and charcoal shading as classes for these are in every neighbourhood).

Paper: The choice of paper can greatly influence the outcome of your artwork. Opt for acid-free, heavyweight paper to prevent yellowing and buckling over time. Smooth papers work well for intricate details, while textured surfaces lend depth and character to your sketches and paintings. Watercolour has a very distinct paper so make sure you use a watercolour paper of good thickness. Cotton based paper is good for watercolour (measured in gsm).

Colours: The world of colours beckons with its myriad possibilities. Watercolours offer transparency and fluidity, perfect for delicate washes and vibrant hues, and quick and immediate effects and results. also cleaning up is easier. Acrylics, with their fast-drying nature, allow for layering and texture, while oils boast richness and blendability, inviting exploration and experimentation.

Canvas: Canvas provides a sturdy foundation for acrylics and oils. Stretched canvas offers a ready-to-use surface, while canvas boards and panels offer convenience and portability. Experiment with different textures and sizes to find what resonates with your style and vision.

Drawing is the cornerstone of visual art, offering a gateway to observation and interpretation. Start with simple exercises — contour drawing, gesture sketches, still lifes — to hone your observation skills and understanding of form. Move on to value-based drawings. Embrace mistakes as opportunities for growth, and allow yourself the freedom to explore and experiment.

Painting is a gateway to express, communicate and immerse oneself in the joy of the process. Begin with simple compositions and limited colour palettes, focusing on value and contrast to create depth and dimension. Explore different techniques, to discover what suits you best.

Drawing: Start with simple exercises to get comfortable with the tools of the trade. Practice drawing basic shapes, lines, and forms to develop your hand-eye coordination and observational skills. Try to move your hand through the shoulder instead of the wrist for more fluid and forceful lines. Experiment with different drawing mediums such as graphite pencils, charcoal, and ink to discover which medium resonates with you the most.

Study anatomy and perspective to understand the structure of objects and figures. Practice drawing from life and reference photos to capture the nuances of form, light, and shadow.

Painting: Each medium mentioned above offers unique properties and techniques that can be explored and mastered over time.

Start with a limited colour palette (three colours + black and white) to simplify the painting process and focus on mastering colour mixing and tonal values. Experiment with different painting surfaces to discover which surface suits your style and preferences. Water colour is great to use if you are travelling or painting outdoors or want quick results. Oils on the other hand offer more control and range but are time and labour intensive. You can use it when you have time on hand or space for its paraphernalia. Acrylics are a versatile medium and you just have to experiment with them, it has many possible methods to use.

Choose suitable subjects

Still life: Still life compositions offer a fantastic opportunity to practice observational skills and explore the interplay of light, shadow, and texture. Start with simple objects such as fruits, and household items, arranging them in interesting compositions to create dynamic visual narratives.

Landscapes: Landscapes provide endless inspiration with their diverse array of natural elements, including mountains, rivers, forests, and skies. Begin by sketching outdoor scenes from life or reference photos which don’t have complex drawing and perspective, focusing on capturing the mood, atmosphere, and sense of space. Once comfortable try cityscapes.

Portraits: Portraiture allows artists to explore the intricacies of the human form and expression. Start by drawing portraits from photographs and then from live models, paying close attention to proportions, features, and facial expressions.

Nature and wildlife: Nature and wildlife offer a wealth of inspiration with their beauty, diversity, and vitality. Venture outdoors to sketch landscapes, animals, and plant life, immersing in the sights, sounds, and rhythms of the natural world.

As you embark on your artistic journey, remember that every stroke, every mark is a testament to your creativity, passion, and perseverance. Embrace the challenges, celebrate the triumphs, and allow yourself the freedom to explore, discover, and grow as an artist. Art has given me entry into so many worlds that just would not have been possible otherwise. Who knows, we might meet down this road one day!

(Aditya Shirke is a multi-disciplinary artist whose practice revolves around painting, idea and notions of duality. Masters from UK and served as a program head for the MFA at MIT Kothrud, Pune, he is interested and active in academia)

Artjournalist

How to Start an Art Journal Step by Step

Wondering how to get started with art journaling? Here is everything you need to know to learn how to start an art journal step by step so you can explore your creativity!

Wondering how to get started with art journaling? In this post we’ll go over everything you need to know to learn how to start an art journal step by step.

Whether you’re already a paper crafter or planner addict – or even if you’ve never touched a paintbrush in your whole entire life – you can learn how to start an art journal!

The best part? It doesn’t have to be completely overwhelming – or even cost a lot to get started!

There is only ONE Thing You Need to Know About Starting an Art Journal

What is this one thing you need to know? You need to know THERE ARE NO RULES! Truly, no rules. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to get started!

All of them are great, all of them are perfect – because your art journal is YOURS. It is not up to what anyone else’s opinion on what should be in it or what you create!

Your art journal is your place for creative expression – and so you should do absolutely whatever makes you happy and toss all reservation out the window. Don’t worry if it’s good enough – because if you enjoy the process, it most definitely 100% is perfect.

So, yes, there is only one thing you really need to know about starting an art journal: There are no rules!

The emotional and stress-relieving benefits are many, and the more you create in your journal, the more beautiful your pages will become with time and practice!

First Things First: Here’s WHY You Should Start an Art Journal

Starting an art journal can be a very freeing way to express your creativity, work through thoughts and ideas, and experiment with new creative techniques. Learning how to create an art journal can give you a place to really explore your creativity!

Your visual art journal is your own private and personal space where you can write, draw, and create almost anything. It can be extremely freeing, because there are no limits.

Your journal pages can be about anything – from the playful silly to the contemplative and serious.

#1: To Work Out Thoughts and Feelings:

Ever have one of those Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Days? They happen to all of us every now and then – sometimes it feels like more than just now and then!

Art journaling can give you the space to get all of those feelings out and express yourself, rather than bottling all of those heavy emotions up inside.

#2: Dream, Plan and Set Goals:

Every project I’ve ever started and goal I’ve reached successfully has had their humble beginnings in an art journal.

I’ve used art journals to plan events, organize my house, create business plans, set financial goals, and even for reaching my own personal health and fitness goals! 

I’ve used art journals as planners so often it is actually what inspired me to write the post about  planner theme ideas . There’s a creative planner idea for everything!

Something about being able to create freely can really help you overcome potential obstacles and see a path ahead to moving forward to where you want to be in life!

#3. To Awaken Your Creative Self:

Many people who start an art journal for the first time do not consider themselves artists, or even creative.

However, I truly believe all of us are creators – even if we do not feel that way!

An art journal is an easy way to help you connect with that inner artist and awaken your creative gifts that you may not even be aware you have yet.

#4. For Personal Development and/or Spiritual Growth:

Art journaling for me is a wonderful way to do some reflective thinking and grow both personally and spiritually.

It can be enlightening to explore your own personal beliefs and deepen your own personal understanding of this great mysterious thing we all know as life.

You can also use art journaling to help develop your own intuition or even explore your own spiritual gifts.

#5. To Play and Have Fun!

Something we often miss more and more as we get older is playtime.

Between busy hectic schedules, and all those pesky adult responsibilities like having to pay the bills and clean the house – making some time for just totally pointless fun and play is so important!

I love getting together with friends for creative art journaling get togethers, as well as exploring new techniques in my art journal that are simply just a big giant mess of fun.

So, yes, these are my top 5 reasons for WHY I believe art journaling is so important and beneficial!

And I realize we haven’t even gotten into the basics of how to start an art journal yet – but I think sometimes having a clear understanding for the intentions or even the reason for creating your own visual journal can help make the process so much easier in diving in!

Now that we have our why, we’re ready to start creating! Let’s get into this step by step tutorial, shall we? 🙂

Here’s HOW to Start Art an Journal Step by Step

Starting an art journal is fun and easy – this step by step guide will get you started creating with wild abandon in no time!

Step 1: Gather Your Art Journaling Supplies

Contrary to what you might think, you don’t need a lot of art supplies to get started – all you really need is paper, some sort of writing instrument and the desire to get started!

For just starting out, I recommend beginning with a sketchbook which has heavy duty paper designed for watercolors or acrylic paints. {See my list of the best art journals for beginners here }.

Here’s a Quick 5 Ingredient Creative List:

• Journal or Sketchbook with Heavy Duty Paper {Try the Dylusions Journal or the  Canson XL Mixed Media Notebook }
• Acrylic or Watercolor Paints and Paintbrush {Kid paints and cheap craft paints are OK!}
• Gel Pens and Markers
• Old Books or Magazines and a Heavy Duty Glue Stick (avoid the washable “school” types if possible – while they will work, they can sometimes stop sticking when mixed with water!)

Of course, there are many, many awesome mixed media supplies and materials to work with in your journal. From acrylic paints to watercolors to spray inks and stamps and stencils to gesso and gel mediums and modeling pastes and gel printing plates…

Yeah, you could say it’s easy to get lost! If you look at our shop page on Amazon you’ll see all of my favorites.

But PLEASE …don’t think you need to rush out and buy everything at once. Start slow. Trust me, you will have plenty of time to build your collection little by little.

Step 2: Prepare a Space to Create

You don’t need a fancy art studio or even a lot of space to start art journaling – your kitchen table will work just fine! 

However, you WILL likely make a bit of a mess when you first get started! I still make a big mess, and I’ve been doing this for many years. That is all part of the fun though!

It’s also nice to have some sort of container to hold all of your supplies, especially if you will need to keep your supplies and workspace portable. You can see more about how I like to organize my art supplies here .

Staying Organized

I LOVE using project boxes like the ArtBin storage containers  for works in progress and something like the Iris Craft Keeper to hold smaller cut-outs, stamps, pens, and more. I love these project boxes because they are so flexible – I use these often!

They are great for storing your supplies in one neat place such as on a bookshelf or in a closet – keeping the mess out of view of ready to go whenever you are ready to create.

It also makes clean-up so much easier for those days you’re crafting on the kitchen table but your family want to do something crazy like eat dinner, lol…

Of course, you don’t need these things to get started, and don’t let not having them stop you from starting either! As I’ve always said – you could start with just a few magazines and a glue stick and a ball point pen and cardboard boxes from your kitchen pantry.

Step 3: Start by Creating a Background

There’s really no wrong way to create your background pages in your art journal – so if you have an idea, just dive right on in!

However, I think the hardest part is when you first start and you are staring at that blank page and have no idea what you are going to create. Here are some very simple background ideas I like to start with that you can try:

Torn up Papers Background:

This is simply some ripped up pieces of leftover scrapbooking paper and some old pages from a damaged book glued into a composition notebook. You can rip the papers in any shape to be any size and start layering them together.

You can use a simple glue stick or a collage adhesive like matte gel medium – but whatever you do, DO NOT USE Mod Podge! Mod Podge tends to leave surfaces very tacky and sticky – and you will be very sad if your pages stick together. I love Mod Podge for other creative projects, but it’s best to leave it out of your art journals.

This background is ready for layers of paint, or almost just pretty enough to leave it as it is!

Watercolor Painted Background:

This background above was created by mixing watercolor and glue and salt. More details on this technique can be found on our post on Watercolor Background techniques here .

Acrylic Painting Background

I also love painting random strokes with different colors in acrylic paints. Paint lines, blocks, circles, triangles, splatters – the sky is the limit!

Here’s a super basic beginning with different random acrylic paint strokes:

Like the journal I used above? This is the Canson Mixed Media XL 7×10  Notebook.

Many times I have a LOT to write out, but it’s not necessarily something I want to be the focal point of my pages. I often will write things out, even writing over myself and doodling on pages before covering them up with collage and paint.

This was the beginning of a page in the Dylusions 8.25 x 11.375 Art Journal , which soon quickly became a whole new page!

Step 4: Add Layers

Working in layers is how you can build your pages to have more depth, interest, and even more personal meaning to you.

In the page above, you can see I’ve kept adding in more paint and marker detail. This page already has about 5 layers just in the photo above!

There are a number of ways to create layers of course – but one simple way is to just keep adding on more paint and magazine/book page cut-outs until you are happy with how everything looks on the page.

Note, if you are working with watercolor, you will want to be careful that you don’t reactivate the watercolor paints in the first layer – this can sometimes cause muddy colors or unintended results.

Once the paint is dry, you can also add in sketches, doodles, and drawings to your journal.

Adding in text, quotes, song lyrics and more can give you easy starting points for adding in words and texts for the “journaling” aspect of your pages if you would like to add writing.

Step 5: Let Dry

Something that many new artjournalists struggle with is pages that stick together. Pages sticking together is one of the worst things ever!

If you live in a hot, dry climate and paint dries fast where you live, you will likely not have to worry about this too much. However, if you’re like me and live in a place which is always humid, raining, and overcast – this can cause it to take days if not longer for your pages to dry.

Most of All: Have Fun Art Journaling!

Art journaling is a lot of fun and can be a great way to relax, unwind and express your creativity! There are no rules to art journaling, so of course this means there is no wrong way to learn how to start an art journal either!

You can create any types of pages you like – and of course also enjoy many different styles and techniques and experiment – that is the fun of it!

Here are Some Other Helpful Articles Here for Beginners You Might Like:

• Overcoming Fear & Perfectionism in Art Journaling
• Art Journal Fails: Create Anyways
• Art Journal Supplies for Beginners

And of course, if you need some inspiration, we have plenty of art journal prompts to inspire you! These journaling prompts are the perfect way to spark your creative imagination!

I hope you find this helpful, and of course, if you have any questions about how to start an art journal, share your questions in the comments section below – I’m always happy to help answer any questions you may have.

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15 Comments

Thank you for sharing,I’m just getting started with this .With that I mean, sketching,painting and and now journaling .what better way to express yourself 😊 I journal a personal one as well . Poems I write not all just those that touch my heart on that day anyways thanks again have a great day and keep journaling 📚🖌

Glad you found it helpful! It is a lot of fun. 🙂

Thank you for sharing all this useful and inspiring info! Have a beautiful day! Be well!

Thank you Naz, you too!

I’m just getting started with art journaling and would like some information on the mats I see being used that allow you to wipe off the glue and paint. What are they called and any recommendation on where they can be found?

Do you mean something like a self-healing cutting mat? There are these ones on Amazon made by Fiskars: https://amzn.to/2SkiE8U – I have an older one similar I use for cutting fabric when sewing but when I am painting/gluing I usually just protect my table with a piece of cardboard covered with wax paper – the wax paper won’t stick to glue. 🙂 Hope that helps a bit – if you want to send me a picture I can try to identify it for you!

Found one. Not the self healing mat but one called a craft mat. I think it’s silicone. Ordered it from Blitsy. Thank you for your help nonetheless.

I have shared this with my art group, most of whom find this art journalling is a new idea. I’ve been doing an art journal for years and am happy to have it defined. It’s also nice to see that I’m not the only one doing this kind of work in a sea of people who feel they have to paint canvases and have everything commercialized. Thnx for being there! ❤️😀🌷🇨🇦

great, i might not fail my art IGCSEs afterall…

I am a complete new person to this way of art and from all that I have seen on tutorials I’m in love. I’m a rookie and I am wanting to thank you for so much info. I am excited and scared to begin.

This is such an inspirational post! Thanks for sharing. I am a jewelry designer and want to start an art journal/sketchbook where I can use colored pencil or markers to work on designs and collect inspiration like patterns, textures, pictures, etc. I have been sketching in an erasable notebook because my drawing skills were not very good when I started.

I totally understand the feeling of being intimidated by a brand new notebook and always feel like I don’t want to ruin it if I draw something I don’t end up liking. Your post gave me a push to start something I’ve been wanting to do for a while. I also didn’t know what type of notebook to use that I could glue inspiration to or even what type of glue to use. I appreciate you including the links for supplies.

Glad you found it helpful Amanda!

Hi ! I have been journaling and writing diaries for years (since childhood, I think, and I am 48 !). Since I need a lot of notebooks, I have begun to make them myself, with regular printer paper and thicker paper (for the cover). It’s not as beautiful as a store-bought notebook, but it is perfect, because : – it is not as intimidating as beautiful Moleskine, Midori (or other brand) paper. If my work is a failure, it is no waste. – it has the exact size I need. Making notebooks from scratch (with materials you have at home) is a real pleasure, and I have saved sooo much money.

I mainly use visual techniques (collage, etc) for the cover, because I love expressing my feelings and my thoughts with words, but lately I have noticed that I sometimes prefer using sketches and pictures, colors, textures, shapes… So, my art journal is not a 100% visual art, but it 500% personal art and expression. And that’s what I love. Moreover, I can see how my work evolves, and what it means for my own personal evolution.

I love mixed media (collage, drawing, stickers, rubber stamps, washi tape…) and I am planning to use ink, watercolor, or whatever material will be useful.

Thank for your blog !

I love homemade journals Cecile, they are always my favorite and you are right you don’t have to worry about anything going to waste! Thanks for sharing you art journaling journey with us!

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Wassily Kandinsky

Russian Painter

Summary of Wassily Kandinsky

One of the pioneers of abstract modern art, Wassily Kandinsky exploited the evocative interrelation between color and form to create an aesthetic experience that engaged the sight, sound, and emotions of the public. He believed that total abstraction offered the possibility for profound, transcendental expression and that copying from nature only interfered with this process. Highly inspired to create art that communicated a universal sense of spirituality, he innovated a pictorial language that only loosely related to the outside world, but expressed volumes about the artist's inner experience. His visual vocabulary developed through three phases, shifting from his early, representational canvases and their divine symbolism to his rapturous and operatic compositions, to his late, geometric and biomorphic flat planes of color. Kandinsky's art and ideas inspired many generations of artists, from his students at the Bauhaus to the Abstract Expressionists after World War II.

Accomplishments

• Painting was, above all, deeply spiritual for Kandinsky. He sought to convey profound spirituality and the depth of human emotion through a universal visual language of abstract forms and colors that transcended cultural and physical boundaries.
• Kandinsky viewed non-objective, abstract art as the ideal visual mode to express the "inner necessity" of the artist and to convey universal human emotions and ideas. He viewed himself as a prophet whose mission was to share this ideal with the world for the betterment of society.
• Kandinsky viewed music as the most transcendent form of non-objective art - musicians could evoke images in listeners' minds merely with sounds. He strove to produce similarly object-free, spiritually rich paintings that alluded to sounds and emotions through a unity of sensation.

The Life of Wassily Kandinsky

Modernist abstraction could not have asked for a more charismatic and visionary theorist than Kandinsky - the highest ideals he pursued through his many travels and friendships.

Important Art by Wassily Kandinsky

Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider)

This breakthrough work is a deceptively simple image - a lone rider racing across a landscape - yet it represented a decisive moment in Kandinsky's developing style. In this painting, he demonstrated a clear stylistic link to the work of the Impressionists, like Claude Monet, particularly evident in the contrasts of light and dark on the sun-dappled hillside. The ambiguity of the form of the figure on horseback rendered in a variety of colors that almost blend together foreshadow his interest in abstraction. The theme of the horse and rider reappeared in many of his later works. For Kandinsky this motif signified his resistance against conventional aesthetic values as well as the possibilities for a purer, more spiritual life through art.

Oil on canvas - Private Collection

Der Blaue Berg (The Blue Mountain)

In this work, the influence of the Fauves on Kandinsky's color palette is apparent as he distorted colors and moved away from the natural world. He presented a bright blue mountain, framed by a red and yellow tree on either side. In the foreground, riders on horseback charge through the scene. At this stage in Kandinsky's career, Saint John's Book of Revelation became a major literary source for his art, and the riders signify the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The horsemen, although an indicator of the mass destruction of the apocalypse, also represent the potential for redemption afterward. Kandinsky's vibrant palette and expressive brushwork provide the viewer with a sense of hope rather than despair. Further, the brilliant colors and dark outlines recall his love of the Russian folk art. These influences would remain part of Kandinsky's style throughout the rest of his career, with bright colors dominating his representational and non-objective canvases. From this figurative and highly symbolic work, Kandinsky progressed further towards pure abstraction. The forms are already schematized from their observable appearance in the surrounding world in this canvas, and his abstraction only progressed as Kandinsky refined his theories about art.

Oil on canvas - The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

Composition IV

Hidden within the bright swaths of color and the clear black lines of Composition IV , Kandinsky portrayed several Cossacks with lances, as well as boats, reclining figures, and a castle on a hilltop. As with many paintings from this period, he represented the apocalyptic battle that would lead to eternal peace. The notion of battle is conveyed by the Cossacks, while the calm of the flowing forms and reclining figures on the right alludes to the peace and redemption to follow. In order to facilitate his development of a non-objective style of painting, as described in his text Concerning the Spiritual in Art (1912), Kandinsky reduced objects to pictographic symbols. Through his elimination of most references to the outside world, Kandinsky expressed his vision in a more universal manner, distilling the spiritual essence of the subject through these forms into a visual vocabulary. Many of these symbolic figures were repeated and refined in later works, becoming further and further abstracted as Kandinsky developed his mature, purely abstract style.

Oil on canvas - Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfallen, Düsseldorf

Composition VII

Commonly cited as the pinnacle of Kandinsky's pre-World War I achievement, Composition VII shows the artist's rejection of pictorial representation through a swirling hurricane of colors and shapes. The operatic and tumultuous roiling of forms around the canvas exemplifies Kandinsky's belief that painting could evoke sounds the way music called to mind certain colors and forms. Even the title, Composition VII , aligned with his interest in the intertwining of the musical with the visual and emphasized Kandinsky's non-representational focus in this work. As the different colors and symbols spiral around each other, Kandinsky eliminated traditional references to depth and laid bare the different abstracted glyphs in order to communicate deeper themes and emotions common to all cultures and viewers. Preoccupied by the theme of apocalypse and redemption throughout the 1910s, Kandinsky formally tied the whirling composition of the painting to the theme of the cyclical processes of destruction and salvation. Despite the seemingly non-objective nature of the work, Kandinsky maintained several symbolic references in this painting. Among the various forms that built Kandinsky's visual vocabulary, he painted glyphs of boats with oars, mountains, and figures. However, he did not intend for viewers to read these symbols literally and instead imbued his paintings with multiple references to the Last Judgment, the Deluge, and the Garden of Eden, seemingly all at once.

Oil on canvas - Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Moscow I (Red Square)

At first the move to Moscow in 1914 initiated a period of depression and Kandinsky hardly even painted at all his first year back. When he picked up his paintbrush again in 1916, he expressed his desire to paint a portrait of Moscow in a letter to his former companion, Munter. Although he continued to refine his abstraction, he represented the city's monuments in this painting and captured the spirit of the city. Kandinsky painted the landmarks in a circular fashion as if he had stood in the center of Red Square, turned in a circle, and caught them all swirling about him. Although he refers to the outside world in this painting, he maintained his commitment to the synesthesia of color, sound, and spiritual expression in art. Kandinsky wrote that he particularly loved sunset in Moscow because it was "the final chord of a symphony which develop[ed] in every tone a high life that force[d] all of Moscow to resound like the fortissimo of a huge orchestra."

Oil on canvas - The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Composition VIII

The rational, geometric order of Composition VIII is a polar opposite of the operatic composition of Composition VII (1913). Painted while he taught at the Bauhaus, this work illustrates how Kandinsky synthesized elements from Suprematism, Constructivism, and the school's own ethos. By combining aspects of all three movements, he arrived at the flat planes of color and the clear, linear quality seen in this work. Form, as opposed to color, structured the painting in a dynamic balance that pulses throughout the canvas. This work is an expression of Kandinsky's clarified ideas about modern, non-objective art, particularly the significance of shapes like triangles, circles, and the checkerboard. Kandinsky relied upon a hard-edged style to communicate the deeper content of his work for the rest of his career.

Several Circles

Kandinsky painted this work in his sixtieth year and it demonstrates his lifelong search for the ideal form of spiritual expression in art. Created as part of his experimentation with a linear style of painting, this work shows his interest in the form of the circle. "The circle," claimed Kandinsky, "is the synthesis of the greatest oppositions. It combines the concentric and the eccentric in a single form and in equilibrium. Of the three primary forms, it points most clearly to the fourth dimension." He relied upon the varied possibilities of interpretation for the circle to create a sense of spiritual and emotional harmony in this work. The diverse dimensions and bright hues of each circle bubble up through the canvas and are balanced through Kandinsky's careful juxtapositions of proportion and color. The dynamic movement of the round forms evokes their universality - from the stars in the cosmos to drops of dew; the circle a shape integral to life.

Composition X

Influenced by the flowing biomorphic forms of Surrealism, Kandinsky later incorporated organic shapes back into his pictorial vocabulary. Executed in France, this monumental painting relies upon a black background to heighten the visual impact of the brightly colored undulating forms in the foreground. The presence of the black expanse is significant, as Kandinsky only used the color sparingly; it is evocative of the cosmos as well as the darkness at the end of life. The undulating planes of color call to mind microscopic organisms, but also express the inner emotional and spiritual feelings Kandinsky experienced near the end of his life. The uplifting organization of forms in contrast with the harsh edges and black background illustrates the harmony and tension present throughout the universe, as well as the rise and fall of the cycle of life. Last in his lifelong series of Compositions , this work is the culmination of Kandinsky's investigation into the purity of form and expression through nonrepresentational painting.

Oil on canvas - Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf

Biography of Wassily Kandinsky

Wassily (Vasily) Wassilyevich Kandinsky was born in 1866 in Moscow to well educated, upper-class parents of mixed ethnic origins. His father was born close to Mongolia, while his mother was a Muscovite, and his grandmother was from the German-speaking Baltic. The bulk of Kandinsky's childhood was spent in Odesa, a thriving, cosmopolitan city populated by Western Europeans, Mediterraneans, and a variety of other ethnic groups. At an early age, Kandinsky exhibited an extraordinary sensitivity toward the stimuli of sounds, words, and colors. His father encouraged his unique and precocious gift for the arts and enrolled him in private drawing classes, as well as piano and cello lessons. Despite early exposure to the arts, Kandinsky did not turn to painting until he reached the age of 30. Instead, he entered the University of Moscow in 1886 to study law, ethnography, and economics. In spite of the legal focus of his academic pursuits, Kandinsky's interest in color symbolism and its effect on the human psyche grew throughout his time in Moscow. In particular, an ethnographic research trip in 1889 to the region of Vologda, in northwest Russia, sparked an interest in folk art that Kandinsky carried with him throughout his career. After completing his degree in 1892, he started his career in law education by lecturing at the university.

Early Training

Despite his success as an educator, Kandinsky abandoned his career teaching law to attend art school in Munich in 1896. For his first two years in Munich he studied at the art school of Anton Azbe, and in 1900 he studied under Franz von Stuck at the Academy of Fine Arts. At Azbe's school he met co-conspirators such as Alexei Jawlensky, who introduced Kandinsky to the artistic avant-garde in Munich. In 1901, along with three other young artists, Kandinsky co-founded "Phalanx" - an artist's association opposed to the conservative views of the traditional art institutions. Phalanx expanded to include an art school, in which Kandinsky taught, and an exhibitions group. In one of his classes at the Phalanx School, he met and began a relationship with his student, Gabriele Munter, who became his companion for the next 15 years. As he traveled throughout Europe and northern Africa with Munter from 1903 until 1909, Kandinsky familiarized himself with the growing Expressionist movement and developed his own style based on the diverse artistic sources he witnessed on his travels.

Kandinsky painted his breakthrough work, Der Blaue Reiter (1903) during this transitional period. This early work revealed his interest in disjointed figure-ground relationships and the use of color to express emotions rather than appearances - two aspects that would dominate his mature style. In 1909, he was one of the founding members of Neue Kunstlervereinigung Munchen (NKVM, or New Artists Association of Munich), a group that sought to accommodate the avant-garde artists whose practices were too radical for the traditional organizations and academies of the time. His paintings became more and more abstracted from the surrounding world as he gradually refined his style. He began titling works Improvisation , Composition , or Impression to further stress their distance from the objective world and continued to use similar titles throughout the rest of his career.

Mature Period

In 1911, in response to the rejection of one of Kandinsky's paintings from the annual NKVM exhibition, he and Franz Marc organized a rival exhibition and co-founded "Der Blaue Reiter" ( The Blue Rider ) - a loose association of nine Expressionist artists that included August Macke, Munter, and Jawlensky. Though their aims and approaches varied from artist to artist, in general the group believed in the promotion of modern art and the possibility for spiritual experience through the symbolic associations of sound and color - two issues very near and dear to Kandinsky's heart. Despite the similarities between the group's moniker and the title of Kandinsky's 1903 painting, the artists actually arrived at the name "Der Blaue Reiter" as a result of the combination of Marc's love of horses and Kandinsky's interest in the symbolism of the rider, coupled with both artists' penchant for the color blue. During their short tenure, the group published an anthology (The Blue Rider Almanac) and held three exhibitions. Additionally, Kandinsky published Concerning the Spiritual in Art (1911), his first theoretical treatise on abstraction that articulated his theory that the artist was a spiritual being that communicated through and was affected by line, color, and composition. He produced both abstract and figurative works at this time, but expanded his interest in non-objective painting. Composition VII (1913) was an early example of his synthesis of spiritual, emotional, and non-referential form through complex patterns and brilliant colors. The outbreak of World War I in 1914 led to the dissolution of Der Blaue Reiter, but, despite their short tenure, the group initiated and deeply inspired the highly influential German Expressionist style.

After Germany declared war on Russia, Kandinsky was forced to leave the country. He traveled to Switzerland and Sweden with Munter for almost two years, but returned to Moscow in early 1916, which effectively ended their relationship. In Moscow he courted and married Nina Andreevskaia, the young daughter of a Czarist colonel. While there, he not only became familiar with the art of Constructivists and Suprematists like Vladimir Tatlin and Kazimir Malevich , but also lived in the same building as Aleksander Rodchenko , and met other avant-garde luminaries like Naum Gabo , Lyubov Popova , and Varvara Stepanova . With the October Revolution in 1917, Kandinsky's plans to build a private school and studio were upset by the Communist redistribution of private wealth and instead, he worked with the new government to develop arts organizations and schools. Despite his participation in the development of the officially sanctioned new institutions, he felt increasingly removed from the avant-garde. His search for spirituality in art did not meld with the utilitarian aesthetic advocated by the young government and the artists it embraced.

In 1921, when architect Walter Gropius invited Kandinsky to Germany to teach at the Weimar Bauhaus, he accepted and moved to Berlin with his wife, gaining German citizenship in 1928. As a member of the innovative school, Kandinsky's artistic philosophy turned toward the significance of geometric elements - specifically circles, half-circles, straight lines, angles, squares, checkerboards, and triangles. In 1926, he published his second major theoretical work, Point and Line to Plane that outlined his ideas about a "science of painting." In both his work and theory he shifted from the romantic, intuitive expression of his pre-war canvases to an emphasis on constructively organized compositions.

Late Period and Death

When the Nazis closed the Bauhaus school in 1933, Kandinsky was forced to leave his adopted home in Germany and moved to France, where he remained for the rest of his life. He and his wife Nina settled in a small apartment in a suburb of Paris, Neuilly-sur-Seine, and were granted French citizenship in 1939. While in France, his style again shifted and he experimented with biomorphic forms, which were more organic than the harsh geometric shapes of his Bauhaus paintings. Although he continued to paint until his last year, Kandinsky's output slowed during the war and his art fell out of favor as the referential images of Cubism and Surrealism came to dominate the Parisian avant-garde. Despite his distance from the aesthetic forefront, Kandinsky continued to refine his style and revisited many of his previous themes and styles during this period, synthesizing elements of his entire oeuvre into vast, complex works. His late style combined the expressive palette of his earliest non-objective Compositions from the early 1910s with the more structured elements he investigated while at the Bauhaus as well as the biomorphic forms popularized by the Surrealists, like Joan Miró and Jean Arp .

The Nazis confiscated 57 of his canvases during their purge of "degenerate art" in 1937, but despite the Fascist proscription against his art, American patrons - notably Solomon R. Guggenheim - avidly collected his abstract work. His works became key to shaping the mission of the museum Guggenheim planned on opening dedicated to modern, avant-garde art. With over 150 works in the museum's collection, Kandinsky became known as the "patron saint of the Guggenheim." He died in December of 1944 in relative, but serene, isolation.

The Legacy of Wassily Kandinsky

Kandinsky's work, both artistic and theoretical, played a large role in the philosophic foundation for later modern movements, in particular Abstract Expressionism and its variants like Color Field Painting. His late, biomorphic work had a large influence on Arshile Gorky's development of a non-objective style, which in turn helped to shape the New York School's aesthetic. Jackson Pollock was interested in Kandinsky's late paintings and was fascinated by his theories about the expressive possibilities of art, in particular, his emphasis on spontaneous activity and the subconscious. Kandinsky's analysis of the sensorial properties of color was immensely influential on the Color Field painters, like Mark Rothko , who emphasized the interrelationships of hues for their emotive potential. Even the 1980s artists working in the Neo-Expressionist resurgence in painting, like Julian Schnabel and Philip Guston , applied his ideas regarding the artist's inner expression on the canvas to their postmodern work. Kandinsky set the stage for much of the expressive modern art produced in the 20 th century.

Influences and Connections

Useful Resources on Wassily Kandinsky

• Kandinsky By Vivian Endicott Barnett, Christian Derouet, Tracey Bashkoff
• Kandinsky Our Pick By Ulrike Becks-Malorny
• Wassily Kandinsky: 1866-1944 a Revolution in Painting By Hajo Duchting
• Kandinskyin Munich, 1896-1914 (1982) By Peg Weiss
• Kandinsky: Russian and Bauhaus Years, 1915-1933 (1983) By Clark V. Poling
• Kandinsky in Paris, 1934-1944 (1985) By Christian Derouet
• Watercolors by Kandinsky By Vivian Endicott Barnett
• Concerning The Spiritual In Art By Wassily Kandinsky
• Point and Line to Plane By Wassily Kandinsky
• Kandinsky: Complete Writings on Art Our Pick Edited By Kenneth C. Lindsay, Peter Vergo
• The Blaue Reiter Almanac By Klaus Lankheit, Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc
• Kandinsky at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Our Pick Website for the 2009 Kandinsky retrospective, with in-depth information on the artist, his work, and his career
• Kandinsky at the Museum of Modern Art Features images of the museum's extensive holdings of Kandinsky's paintings and prints
• Return of a Giant By Karen Wilkin / The Wall Street Journal / September 21, 2009
• The Angel in the Architecture Our Pick By Roberta Smith / The New York Times / September 17, 2009
• Sound and Vision Our Pick By Gerard McBurney / The Guardian / June 23, 2006
• Mysteries and Mush By Adrian Searle / The Guardian / June 20, 2006
• The Man Who Heard His Paintbox Hiss By Ossian Ward / The Telegraph / June 10, 2006

Similar Art

Mont Sainte-Victoire (c.1905)

Rouen Cathedral: The Facade at Sunset (1894)

Highway and Byways [ Hauptweg und Nebenwege ] (1928)

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Content compiled and written by Eve Griffin

Edited and published by The Art Story Contributors

How did Raygun qualify for the Olympics? Is she really the best Australia has to offer?

Since Australian breaker Rachael "Raygun" Gunn failed to score a single point in any of her Olympic bouts, many have asked how she qualified for the Games.

Fellow breaker and anthropologist Lucas Marie says she won her qualification "fair and square" last year, but African American man Malik Dixon has criticised the Olympic body for letting her in.

What's next?

Breaking will not be an event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games — a decision made before Raygun's performance.

The 2024 Paris Olympics marked breaking's debut as a sport at the global event, with 36-year-old lecturer and breaker Rachael "Raygun" Gunn representing Australia for the first time.

Having failed to win a single point in any of her Olympic bouts, Raygun quickly became a viral sensation.

The question on many people's minds now is: How did she even qualify?

Lucas Marie is a breaker who has competed, performed, taught and judged breaking competitions over the past 25 years. He's also an anthropologist who recently co-authored an article with Gunn.

He says the answer to that question is simple.

"There was an Oceania qualifier in which any B-boy or B-girl from Australia [or] New Zealand could enter, and that was in Sydney in October 2023," he told ABC News.

"And leading up to that, there were a lot of other events in which breakers were competing.

"She won those battles fair and square and won the qualification in Sydney.

"And it wasn't really a surprise to anyone. 

"She's been fairly consistent, winning or coming second or third at a lot of breaking events in Australia for the last five to 10 years."

Marie said there was nothing out of the ordinary about Raygun's performance.

"It's not like gymnastics where there's this kind of agreed-upon standard," he said.

"It's always had a rawness to it. It's always had an improvisational kind of quality. And I think looking different and trying different stuff has always been celebrated.

"And I think Raygun, in a way, was just expressing a core kind of hip hop trait in a way a lot of breakers do."

He described her efforts as bold.

"I thought — and this is how I judge a lot of breaking events — I thought, 'Oh, she's making some really interesting choices to mimic Australian animals.' And you can kind of see the choices that she's making in the moment."

Is she the best Australia has to offer?

Team Australia chef de mission Anna Meares insisted after Raygun's performance that she was the best breaker the country had to offer. But is this true?

"It's sometimes just who's performing better on the day," Marie said.

"And at the qualification event in which she won, and other events in which she's won, she performed better on that day and won the ticket.

"That doesn't mean she's the best. It doesn't really work like that.

"I think she's a great breaker. She won the qualification. She's won other events in the past, and she was a good representative for Australia at that competition."

Asked whether there were B-girls in Perth, regional Victoria or rural Brisbane who might have qualified but could not afford to travel to Sydney for the tryouts, Marie agreed this was possible.

"Of course, there's breakers all over the country that maybe should have been in that event, but they weren't."

Breaking will not carry over to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, a decision made before Raygun's battle.

Marie described this as sad.

"Maybe, based on the ratings, they'll reassess that and maybe allocate some medals to breaking," he said.

"I really hope that's the case, and I hope that for other breakers who want to compete in it as a dance sport."

Marie said that at the end of the day people should remember they were dealing with a human.

"As a friend of Rachael's, there's a human being who's getting a lot of negative attention," he said.

"I think people kind of miss that sometimes and forget the human aspect of all this."

'Toying with the culture'

Malik Dixon is an African American who has been living in Australia for more than a decade and is a Sydney University graduate.

He said Raygun made a total "mockery" out of breaking at the Olympics.

"She was dressed like a member of the cricket team or an Australian PE teacher, and from that point it just seemed like satire," Mr Dixon told ABC News.

"It just looked like somebody who was toying with the culture and didn't know how culturally significant it was being the first time in the Olympics and just how important it was to people who really cherish hip hop and one of the elements of hip hop, which is breakdancing.

"It made me think, was Borat her breakdancing coach?"

Mr Dixon said too many people felt entitled to African American culture.

"The African American space has been one where we've shared our community so much and without any restraints, any barriers, roadblocks, obstacles, any gatekeepers, that essentially what should have been African American cultural capital is just shared, which is cool," he said. 

"We like to share, right? 

"We shared 400 years of free labour.

"To see Rachael in her attempt to be a part of the culture just be grossly underwhelming made it seem like she didn't take it seriously."

Olympics body criticised for Raygun qualification

Mr Dixon criticised the body that qualified Raygun, saying she devalued breaking with her performance.

"Whatever governing body nominated her as Australia's entrant into the Olympics either did not understand the assignment or didn't really believe in the integrity or significance of breakdancing, because if they did they would just say, rather than disrespect the culture, we're just not ready to send an applicant this year."

He said Raygun was extremely audacious and not self-aware.

"You've got to know your role, know your position, know your limitation," he said. 

"And I think that part of privilege is saying that there are no limits to what I can do. 

"Part of privilege is having the authority to say that there are no limits and there are no requirements, there are no prerequisites to what I can do."

Raygun's degrees do not hold much water with Mr Dixon.

"Due to consumerism, this Foundational Black American product, which is hip hop, is global," he said.

"And even people who have no connection to any African Americans or any local or regional things that come out in these songs, they have become a part of the whole experience now.

"If I came in and said that I was an authority on Greek music and I was going against the grain of what the mainstream Greek musicians thought, or the school of thought, and I've said that I was the authority, people would check me on that.

"If I had a PhD in sprinting, does that qualify me to go against Noah Lyles? No, it doesn't."

He also doubts Raygun was the best breaker Australia had to offer.

"[There's] got to be somebody out here that's better than that! The kangaroo! The sprinkler! She did the sprinkler out there, man!" he said.

Should everybody just lighten up?

Should we lighten up? Mr Dixon does not believe so.

"Larrikinism is used as a get-out-of-jail-free card and to escape responsibility of how words or actions impact a hurt person," he said.

"But when the majority culture is offended, there's no playing around.

"This is a part of my culture, and I don't think Australians are in a place to tell me how I should feel about breakdancing being mocked on an international stage.

"People who don't have any or limited access to black people or hip hop culture now may see Rachael and her buffoonery as a representation of hip hop and black culture.

"People who were already side-eyeing breakdancing as an Olympic sport, Rachael Gunn has put the nail in that coffin.

"This might be the most viral clip of the whole Olympics. From a comedy standpoint, she's got it, but from an Olympics perspective, its regressive."

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03 December, 2019

The forbidden art of the GULAG

Yulo Sooster. Prisoner. Karlag, 1950. Courtesy of togdazine.ru and International Memorial

The only remaining fragments that document the horror endured by millions.

The prison camps of the Soviet Union were a self-contained universe that left very few visual traces. The world outside the Soviet empire first learnt about those forced labour camps through works like Alexander Solzhenytsin’s ‘The GULAG Archipelago’, smuggled out of the Soviet Union and published in 1973. But with the exception of a few scattered photographs, the only remaining visual record are drawings, paintings, sculptures, and diaries made by a handful of survivors, most of them created from memory after release from the camps.

Beginning with the establishment of the first prison camp on the Solovetsky Islands in Russia’s White Sea in 1923, and formalised with the infamous 1929 law “on using the labour of prisoners,” the GULAG -a Russian acronym of the Main Directorate of Corrective Labour Camps - formed a network that spanned every part of the empire and drew citizens of all walks of life to that hell on earth, including artists.

At Vorkutlag, a coal-mining camp just above the Arctic Circle, NKVD general Vladimir Maltsev proclaimed, “Here, in the Polar region, in conditions of polar nights and permafrost, we must create a bright and appealing theatre, happy and lyrical.” Many were saved by the GULAG’s thirst for theatrical performances, including artists who created the decorations. However, this officially sanctioned work represents only a fraction of all artistic activities at the heart of the monster. What left a more serious shadow, was what prisoners created when they turned their talent toward the GULAG itself.

Evfrosinia Kersnovskaya. From the book "How Much A Person Costs", 1964–1968

The visual artists of the GULAG fall into two rough groups: those who produced works during captivity, and those who did so after. What has been handed down from the former group is, naturally, much smaller. The possession of artistic implements by unauthorised persons was punishable by confinement, extended sentences, and/or hard labour. Meanwhile, those who worked “on the outside” had to work in secret, hiding their works from the police and neighbours for fear of further repercussions.

A member of the first group, Boris Sveshnikov (1927–1998) was arrested as a 19-year-old student for participating in a “terrorist plot”, and sent to the Ukhtizhemlag, a mining and chemical processing camp in the Komi Republic. His drawings, done on stolen paper in his night watchman’s booth, bear a striking resemblance to classical landscape engravings, with a hint of dark surrealism: Siberian landscapes are dotted with jagged fragments of barracks and camp facilities perched on precipices, inhabited by nurses, doctors and emaciated, naked bodies of prisoners. 

Most stunning of all are the huge empty spaces in his work, glaring out at viewers not as an invitation to fill in the blank, but rather as a warning of a blank too horrifying to fill. In 1950, he wrote in a letter home, “I never draw from nature. [...] The will of my unconscious is stronger. I haven’t looked at the sky or at people for two years now.” His was a rare case of relative freedom in the camps: an enormous number of his works survived, and his later pieces pale in comparison to the poignancy of what he accomplished in captivity.

Yulo Sooster. Turkmen Nar-Muhani. Karlag, 1950. Courtesy of togdazine.ru and International Memorial

Yulo Sooster. A man from Haltermaa. Karlag, 1954. Courtesy of togdazine.ru and International Memorial

Yulo Sooster. Prisoner in quilted jacket. Karlag, 1952. Courtesy of togdazine.ru and International Memorial

Yulo Sooster. The artist in the camp. Karlag, 1951. Courtesy of togdazine.ru and International Memorial

Yulo Sooster. Sunny day at the camp. Karlag, 1953. Courtesy of togdazine.ru and International Memorial

Not all artists could be as productive on the inside. One of Sveshnikov’s campmates, Lev Kropivnitsky (1922–1994), was arrested together with him on the charges of “anti-Soviet terrorism”. Some of his drawings made in the camp have survived to the present day. Upon his eventual rehabilitation, he used abstract painting as a way of engaging with the jarring realities he had faced, and upon returning to Moscow, began to take part in unofficial art circles and was even accepted into the Union of Artists in 1973.

Prominent Estonian artist Yulo Sooster (1924–1970), who would become an important figure of the underground art scene in USSR in the 1960s, was sent to GULAG in 1949, along with a group of young people accused of anti-Soviet propaganda. He was released in 1956, three years after Stalin’s death. He illustrated letters to his wife-to-be with camp scenes and even managed to earn money by drawing highly realistic portraits of his fellow inmates at night, which he then sold to them for five roubles each. That style was, of course, a far cry from surrealistic and abstract imagery he embraced on regaining his freedom.

Trained as an artist in the legendary studios of VKhUTEMAS under avant-garde painter Robert Falk (1886-1958), Eva Pavlovna Levina-Rozengoltz (1898-1975) had a successful career as a textile artist until her arrest in 1949, when she was sentenced to 10 years of exile in Krasnoyarsk Krai. In addition to working in the camp’s logging operation and hospital, she made patterned textiles and painted on oilcloths and wooden plaques to earn money, occasionally sketching landscapes in ink and watercolour in her free time. Upon her own return to Moscow, she, like Kropivnitsky, began to process her experience through drawings. Her works illuminate a stunning artistic path from her first ‘Rembrandt Series’ of 1957-1961, through her icon-esque group portraits of the mid-1960s, all the way to her haunting “plastic compositions” of the early 1970s. In contrast to the cliche of a survivor frozen in time, this artist instead continued to grow with age, finding ever new techniques to represent her formative trauma. 

Eva Levina-Rozengoltz. Karlag, 1951–1954. Courtesy of Galeyev-Gallery, Moscow

Amateurs, too, took up the mantle of chronicling the human experience’s terrifying extremes in the camps. One was Evfrosinia Kersnovskaya (1908-1994), who would become a folk hero among Russian historical memory activists. Born to a minor Russian nobleman in Odessa, she fled with her family to Bessarabia (now Moldova) in the early Soviet years. Kersnovsakaya was first arrested as a landowner in 1941 and deported to Siberia. She was arrested again after she had made a 1,500-kilometre prison break across Siberian taiga. Such a story is worthy of its own book - one that she herself wrote. After she was freed and rehabilitated, she dedicated five years from 1964 to 1968 to chronicling her former prison life. This triumph of samizdat, called ‘How Much A Person Costs’ (Skolko stoit chelovek), brings up myriad of associations, including Russian lubok folk art, comic books, and caricature. In it, Kersnovskaya pulls no punches, portraying scenes of both nightmarish horror and human vulnerability with the quick hand and sharp eye of a court reporter, and recalling every step of her harrowing journey. 

A similar dedication to documentary characterizes Nikolay Getman (1917–2004), who was arrested for a sketch he made of Stalin on cigarette paper, and spent nearly eight years in the Ozerlag and Kolyma camps. Upon settling in Magadan with his family after the end of his prison sentence, he began to study painting, and devoted himself to representing his experience in a similar documentary tradition. Although he became a member of the Magadan Union of Artists in 1964 and even a popular illustrator in the Soviet press, the core of his creative efforts - his recollections of camp life in acrylic and oil only saw the light of day in 1993.

Andrey Mitenyov. Letter, 2018

Andrey Mitenyov. Letter, 2019

Andrey Mitenyov. Self-portrait, 2018

It has not become easier for Russian prisoners to share their stories. Today’s Federal Penitentiary Service’s rules on correspondence for inmates are strict, meaning that few narratives see the light of day before their creators themselves do. Those who are especially daring find ways around their restrictions on communication, elaborately and colourfully illustrating their letters home, like Andrey Mitenyov, or trying their hand at the ancient medium of prison tattoos like Oleg Navalny (brother of the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny). The lengths to which they stretch the boundaries of the artistic forms available to them can now be seen the world over, and their stories will not be lost. 

Oleg Navalny. #got_chif?, 2017. Liner and marker on tracing paper, 22×14 cm. Courtesy of art4.ru

Oleg Navalny. Lattice, 2017. Liner and gel pen on tracing paper, 16 x 24 cm Courtesy of art4.ru

Oleg Navalny. Stung, 2017. Liner on tracing paper, 23 x 19 cm Courtesy of art4.ru

Oleg Navalny. Premiere screening. From the series “Alice in the Land of Prison Wonders. Allusions in the John Tenniel Illustration", 2017. Liner and gel pen on tracing paper Courtesy of art4.ru

Oleg Navalny. Drug traffic. From the series “Alice in the Land of Prison Wonders. Allusions in the John Tenniel Illustration”, 2017. Liner and gel pen on tracing paper Courtesy of art4.ru

Oleg Navalny. Waiting, 2017. Liner and marker on tracing paper, 15 x 13 cm Courtesy of art4.ru

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Artmossphere: street art in Moscow

Murals and public art installations in moscow curated by artmossphere studio..

By Artmossphere Studio

ARTMOSSPHERE is a creative community, which curates various art projects, exhibitions and festivals, connected with street art. More than hundred of foreign and Russian artists had a chance to take part in street-art Biennale ARTMOSSPHERE and street-art  festival LGZ, which turned out to be the main event in Russian street-art industry. Moreover, the biennale turned out to be the place of a real festival, where the murals, public art installations had to share the place with curators lectures, workshops and public talks.

Wall painting  interacting with the geometric perspective and graphic design

This work is about people who grown up and leave cities to find their own way

Monumental wall painting close near city centre

Abstract universe with bright shapes and symbols

Geometrical shapes and the deconstruction of traditional graffiti lettering technique.

The work allows viewers to look into the fictional space behind the wall. At the mural figure silhouettes mixed  with household items and interior and pass into a story about people who live there and probably do not even know their neighbors.

Wildly surreal imagination spraypaint behind of main road.

Geometrical wall painting in city centrum. A mural made during the LGZ Festival in Moscow, Russia. The size of the wall is 11x18 meters. 

170 Square meter mural in Moscow for LGZ Festival.

The mural on the facade of the city center. Artist finds his artwork stories in reality inspired by everyday life.

Wall painting  inspired by themes such as science, religion, cosmology and social subjects. This surrealist painting featuring their ever iconic characters and pastel colouration.

This work proposes a necessary dialogue between colors that build it, make a direct relationship with the medium itself, question the empty space and the use of compositional resources.  The color distribution has been generated to have a greater importance than the morphology of the piece, the main element considered is the total area that acts as a support and its quantitative relationship of each color. The composition is based on generating a optical harmonic balance to make it relative to the environment in which the mural is. We can see basic geometry has been used as the circle, the scalene triangle and other allusions to gestural strokes.

Piece is able to find it at the Meridian House of Culture, Moscow.

An abstraction wall painting with hidden writer's name inside

The Spanish artist works often depicts uncommon scenes that challenge stereotypes of women and social stigmas.

Artists: Alexey Luka  and Ekta Ekta

Italian artist Never 2501's works are visually stunning, diving head first into the essence of line art through his use of monochromatic color schemes that emphasize his technique.

Workshop for kids and their parents in special artist techniques based on a similar constructive arrangement.

Meeting of Different Styles & Hall of FameBiennale international guests and Russian graffiti writers painted together a long wall on the design factory Flacon.

Okuda san Miguel

Nicolas Barrome

Kostya Zmogk

4-meter sculpture at Muzeon Art Park riverwalk

The mural is located next to a bike pump track.

Curator—Sabina Chagina

Artmossphere: Moscow Biennale of Street Art 2014

Artmossphere studio.