Today is an amazing, splendid, historic day for me!

Why?

Because I just finished all the 222 exercises in the Drawing Textbook by Bruce McIntyre. Actually, I think I skipped two of the exercises because I wasn’t interested in drawing those particular things. OK, so I did 220 of the exercises.

I started this book so long ago, I’m not really sure of the date. At least ten years ago, back in 2015. Probably before. I started using this book when most if not all of my children lived at home, to be used as a homeschooling topic of study to enjoy together. Watching my mom and my sister develop drawing skills always intrigued me. Both studied art in college, with my sister earning a bachelor’s of art degree in illustration. I’ve always wanted to develop my artistic skills but have hardly taken the time, always feeling like I had more urgent things to do. In high school it was to study for and pass 7 AP tests (not art, but art history was one of the AP tests I passed), then in college it was to graduate with a degree in zoology premed emphasis, then it was have a job at a medical school, then after getting married, it was to rear and homeschool seven babies.

Life somewhat settled down somewhere after 2010 when I started drawing from this book with my children.

Below are the earliest pages I can find, but they aren’t dated. I started dating my exercises later.

I read about this book in the lovetolearn.net catalog, with the description below written by Diane Hopkins, veteran homeschooling mom of 7.

“The concept taught in this book is incredible! Everyone, not just the artistic, can learn to draw realistically just as nearly everyone can read or write. 222 lessons clearly and simply teach hands-on such principles as alignment, perspective, foreshortening, shading, etc. You and your children can master the skill of drawing just like you learned to read—through simple lessons teaching basic skills and practice. I draw the lesson (such as a box in 3-D) step-by-step on a paper or chalkboard and have the children draw along with me on their papers. You will see unbelievable improvement in just a few lessons! Paperback, black-and-white drawings, 60 pages.”

So Diane sold me on the book! I probably bought it when I only had three kiddos, back in 1999 or something. I read the intro and hung on to it for years until I finally dove into it. I loved the introduction that says most anyone can learn how to draw, just like most anyone can learn how to read. Reading is not a skill for the select few. Neither is drawing, argues the author of the book, Bruce McIntyre. He used to be an animator for Walt Disney and has taught many people how to draw. You can check out his site here. He says that the ability to draw is a great way to learn to communicate. I agree!

The outside of the book is not very impressive. It’s just a thin flimsy book with a cardstock cover, and the binding is stapled. Looks can be deceiving! It’s a book that can change your life if you do the exercises!

Anyway, I think I started maybe in 2012? It was an effort to do some study of ” ‘you’ with them,” a variant of the one of the Keys of Education from Thomas Jefferson Education, which is ” ‘you’ not them.” Every day, for a brief time, we did one exercise together, my four younger children and I. But then life happened. I forgot about doing it every day and/or got distracted. Then we moved, and unpacked, picked it up again, then moved again, and then again! If any of you have moved three times in 9 years like I have, or even more frequently, you know what I’m talking about, am I right?!

It was last fall that I got more into it, working on it at least weekly. I asked my son, my last remaining child in my homeschool to do it with me. He balked so I finally agreed to not force it on him, and just do it by myself. Then this past summer I pretty much did an exercise every day.

Anyway, one of my children really took off with drawing. I like to think it’s because of my exposing her to this book, with that brief time over ten years ago when we did it together. She never finished the book on her own but went on to teach herself by studying a variety of other drawing books and YouTube tutorials. Now she draws amazing sketches of human figures.

I highly recommend this book. If your children are interested in learning how to draw, they can learn with this book. If you are interested in learning, you too will learn how to draw. Even if you are like me and take over ten years to get through it!

Here’s the author, Bruce, doing some of the exercises.

I find so much joy in drawing! Making the pencil draw straight lines, meeting in a corner exactly, with another line gives me such a noncaloric dopamine hit. Then using a straightedge, to learn to draw parallel lines to show depth and perspective of realistic objects, is just so satisfying. Then to use my electric eraser, from Daiso (the little blue thing in the photos I show in this post) like a little wood chipper and redraw lines just makes me feel like I’m some kind of carpenter, refining the wood I’m working with, or even a sculptor chiseling away some marble to create a thing of beauty. It just all feels so good! Perhaps it is a way to feel more peace and some bit of control in this crazy world we live in. I feel like I’m following in the steps of my favorite illustrators, including Robert McCloskey, Eloise Wilkins, Jessie Willcox Smith, my artist mom, and my youngest artist sister Emily.

You too can learn to draw! I’m excited to move on to two other books I have in the wings. Even though AI can draw anything I want, I valuable being able to draw the old-fashioned way, by myself.

Here’s a review of the book by my great friend Audrey and her daughter, Avery, below.

I do hope you check it out and learn how to draw too! If you are a sincere seeker of truth and beauty, I know you’ll enjoy this book!