This week several people came to me with the same question: How do you make time to draw? Life is so busy that despite our best intentions it can seem impossible to set aside time to pull out a pencil and sketchbook.
It might take a little planning, but it is so worth the effort to carve out drawing time in your weekly schedule. The first thing is to think about your goals and the style of drawing you like to do. Some people are comfortable with a 15 minute time slot to do a quick drawing. Others like to focus on detail and require an hour or more to make the progress they’re looking for. Start by defining your goal for what you’d like to accomplish. Then take an honest look at your calendar or weekly schedule and write down drawing times.
For a while when I was working many hours outside the home, I got up an hour early each day to do artwork. Other times I found time to work in the evenings or on weekends. I know of someone who draws for 15 minutes every night before she goes to bed. Others set up drawing dates with friends. Making a regular commitment is the key. However you do it, stick to it!
Sometimes no matter how hard we try, there simply isn’t room in our schedules for regular drawing. When my children were young and I worked full time, that was the case for me. I only had time to draw and paint during family vacations so I always made sure we went to beautiful places. This is a drawing from Jasper National Park in Alberta.
We can always find time for the things we really want to do.
Love to Draw 
That watercolour stripe just flowing through the pen sketch adds so much to it! So simple, yet so effective. How long does a drawing like that normally take?
Thank you. Many of my drawings are fairly small, about 8 x 10 inches, and they take anywhere from 2-4 hours depending on the complexity of the subject. This drawing from Jasper is 7 x 12, it took about 4 hours for the ink work.