Artists: Expand Your Creative Observation in Just One Week

Increase your powers of Creative Observation with this simple daily exercise and you'll notice the difference in just one week!

DAY 1
Choose an everyday object and observe it using all of your senses:

• Study it, observe it's color, texture, patterns, shape and edges.
• Pick it up and feel it's textures and the weight of it
• Close your eyes - what does it smell like?
• Tap it with your fingers, how does that sound? Does it make a 'thunk', 'rustle' or a 'ping'? Run your fingers across it, can you feel a change in texture?
• Is this something that would have a taste? Is so, what would it taste like? Compare it other things.

Now put the object away - out of sight. Pick up your drawing pad and draw the object from memory. Include as much detail as you can and also aim at creating impressions of sound, smell and taste.

DAY 2
Again pick up the object and focus on it with all your senses, just as you did on day One. Again put the object aside and without looking at your previous drawing, draw the object once more. You don't have to draw the object from the same angle or position as you did on day One. In fact, it's best if you draw today using your new insights.

DAYS 3, 4, 5, & 6
Each day do the same things: observe, put aside and then draw the same object from a different perspective. Make sure that you DO NOT look back at any of your previous drawings.

DAY 7
On this final day SKIP observing the object - just draw it using all of your previous memories and senses. When you are finished with your final drawing, go back through all of your drawings and compare them. What changes do you see? How much has your observation of the object improved?