What should I draw?

Very often people ask me this question “What should I draw?” Let’s solve this puzzle together today. Art is an expression, so when this question comes to your mind, it means you are thinking of how to express your thoughts. Look around you, look at your world. Your environment including the objects around you, the places you see, the people you meet and the feelings you experience – all of them can be your inspiration. I think God must have been an artist to have created such a beautiful world. Nature inspires me the most. I like drawing birds and flowers a lot.

‘ I recently visited a Park and I was amazed by the show put up by the elephants in the evening. We could play with them and even ride on them. It was a memorable evening. Do you want to capture that memory on paper?’ Just as people express themselves by sharing a talk or an essay, in the same way we artists express ourselves using pencils and paint. So a drawing is essentially what I saw and felt, making it my version of the experience – my essay. Now that I have my muse! Great! That is what I shall draw.

The process is simple. Go with the flow. Keep a diary to note pointers or rough marker sketches when an idea hits you. Over a few days short list and pick the idea you wish to take forward. Convert it to your final work. Not all ideas will get cleared. It is ok to leave a drawing incomplete, come back to it later or not pursue it further at all. It happens all the time. If you feel you don’t have an idea to pursue, it means you need to take a break and unwind. You need collect some new experiences to continue your journey. After the unwinding, when you are back to your desk you will be refreshed and ready to pick up your brushes and complete your Artwork to your satisfaction.

The biggest mistake we can make is to look for inspiration online. It is ok to look for reference on the Internet but don’t look for inspiration. Copying a drawing someone else made will mean the end of your Art Journey. It is like selecting from an already filtered bunch. Most people hit a roadblock doing this as it limits one’s scope to grow as an artist. May be you saw something which the other person did not see. Everyone reads the book but they all understand it differently. We want to see it from your eyes! A good Artist is someone who can express his or her message clearly through the artwork.

What all do people usually draw and paint? Here is a broad spectrum of possible things to draw and paint.

Let’s try and list some specific topics to draw. This should get the ball rolling.

This is not an exhaustive list. The purpose of this article was to share with you the process so you can do it easily all by yourself. The list is never exhaustive, it keeps changing. So keep your eyes open, look and observe! Anything could be your next inspiration, you never know!