The Importance of a Sketchbook

So the other day I was talking to one of my artist friends about coming up with drawing ideas. This is definitely an issue I think every artist has come across and one of the many things that scares people away from art. 

Often times people see artists and think that they are constantly thinking about creative and amazing things. They think that if you ask that artist to draw something, they will produce something spectacular within minutes. But that is rarely the case...

Good ideas come from practice, good art come from practice and being able to draw comes from practice. Learning how to be a good artist and how to draw is just like learning how to do anything else. It takes practice.

As silly as it sounds I didn't always understand this concept. For many years I felt that when ever my pencil touched the paper I needed to draw a masterpiece. When I drew I felt that it needed to be good enough to one day be framed in a museum... or least on my moms fridge. 

I underestimated the idea of practice and drawing "everyday things". I never saw the value of drawing just a hand or just a shoe. It never crossed my mind that if I truly wanted to be a good artist and make a living from my art, then I should probably learn how to draw anything.  I never understood that by drawing everyday things, I would then learn how to create new ideas on my own. 

When I learned how to draw a circle or square I realized that many things were built off of these shapes. I learned that if I could draw these shapes and then built an understanding of how to draw other things such as faces and buildings.