How to Look, Draw & Paint

Learning to draw needn't be complicated or expensive, nor does one need a particularly spectacular subject to draw. In this, his first practical art book, artist Matthew Rice encourages readers to look at and draw the scenes around them - the desk they are sitting at, the view out the window, a bowl of produce from the supermarket. And it is by truly sitting with and engaging with our everyday world that drawing skills can be learnt and strengthened, confidence built, and a new mindful creative activity developed.

A bunch of spring onions can be a starting point when thinking about shading and form. The view from your kitchen window becomes an exercise in perspective and measuring lines. A vase full of flowers is the perfect subject to develop your skills in detailed drawing and three-dimensional structure.

Little by little, by following the ten step-by-step exercises in the book, readers will build the skills and techniques to approach drawing any scene with confidence and ease. "To know how to draw, you need to think about how to look, because to draw is to look and report in on what you have seen. As we learn to draw better we also learn to understand better: to analyze, explore and comprehend our world and its inhabitants.

The exercise is more than an expression of a desire to decorate, to kill time or amuse. It is in fact a vital and near universal mode of communication that allows us to speak to those with whom we share no other common language."