Foundations Testimonals

“…learning to draw is not magic – there are skills you can develop in visual thinking to help you on your way.”

Liz thank you so much for such a well-structured and inspiring course. And thanks to all our colleagues — this has been a wonderfully encouraging group to work with during such crazy times.

My 3 takeaways are:

Realising that learning to draw is not “magic” but there are skills you can develop in visual thinking to help you on your way.
Choosing a focus and a story before you start to sketch.
And learning to let go of “perfection” — enjoy the journey and your experiments. Have fun!!

– Susan

“…a complete game-changer for me!”

Thank you so much for all the time and effort you put into these courses, Liz! They’ve been a complete game-changer for me!

My three take-aways are:

Play with your materials. The outcome doesn’t always have to be an incredible sketch! I always felt like my abilities weren’t quite up to the loveliness of the paint, so I wouldn’t use them!
If I don’t use them, I’m never going to learn!
I’m going to think more about why I’m drawn to a particular scene and how do I make that the focus of my sketch.
I’m going to think more about abstracting shapes along with negative versus positive spaces, which in turn will help me with my lengths, angles and relationships.

Thank you to everyone who was so encouraging in this class. This was the first time I’ve ever shown my work to anyone and all of you were so supportive.

– Barbara

“…It’s thrilling to see the progress I’ve been making “

Liz, I can’t thank you enough for creating this course and for the time you put in with us during this group run through. It’s thrilling to see the progress I’ve been making and sketching has become much more fun, with healthy evaluation instead of harsh self-judgement.

There are so many wonderful things to takeaway from this course, but here are the three that I want to consciously work on right now:

Take time before I begin a sketch to consider what my story is.
Work out from a focus with consideration of page/spread composition.
Preserve white and resist the urge to fill in every part of the sketch with paint.

Thanks again, Liz. And thanks to all my classmates for being so inspiring and encouraging.

– Susanna

“…the sense of community and sharing in a common goal really helps me stay motivated!”

This was my second time going through Foundations. Putting what I learned into practice on a daily basis, however, was such an incredible experience and my goal is to continue to make my art more consistently after I go back to my job teaching in August.

For me, the biggest takeaway from Foundations this round is finding my focus. My tendency is to want to put detail in everything and I am making progress at concentrating my efforts in my focal point. The value of working through a composition with thumbnail sketches cannot be emphasized enough in my opinion.

Liz, you are a master teacher and I really appreciate the courses and the group run throughs!Thank you for all you do for your students including the livestreams. The sense of community and sharing in a common goal really helps me stay motivated!

– Lisa

“…less pressure and more freedom to experiment.”

I would like to thank you, Liz, for a great course. As someone who always takes a pristine sketch book with me each time I travel and brings it home in the same condition, the course has given me an opportunity to finally come to grips with sketching on location.

My takeaways are:

Embrace wonky…..a drawing can work even if it’s not a perfect representation of the subject. As I’m drawing more often, there is less riding on each sketch, so less pressure and more freedom to experiment.
Focus on what story I want the sketch to tell, and use that to determine how to approach the drawing and where to put the focus.
Start with the focus and let the sketch grow from there seems a good approach. Especially if it ensures there is a focus.

It has also been great to be part of a group of talented and supportive sketchers. I have really enjoyed your work and learnt from it…and would also like to thank you all for your comments and insights along the way.

– Pam

“…a welcoming space in which to learn and grow”

I have really enjoyed this course! It has been one of the few things I’ve done each day, along with eating and sleeping, that has been consistent during this pandemic.

My 3 big takeaways:

What is the story I want to tell. Previously I’ve painted/drawn based on being moved by something, but that’s a bit different. Now I have more of a focus, both in myself and in the sketch.
Use thumbnails more often – most of the time would be good for awhile. This helps me try out options for the story I want to tell. Also, it helps me to simplify as it’s so tempting for me to want to include much more than is optimal.
Take the time to measure for more accuracy. It can be loosely done, but take the time.

I, too, would like to thank all of you participants for being on this journey together. I’ve loved seeing your work and reading your kind words of inspiration.

Additionally, thanks, Liz, for creating such a welcoming space in which to learn and grow. You have honed your artistic skills masterfully and your commitment to teaching and sharing seems limitless.

– Susie