Story and drawing by Ronnie Rayner Larter

Finding beauty in ordinary objects

When finding a subject for study do you often look for something with niceties or beauty? Well, let me tell you, although a graveyard may not be to everyone’s taste, it can offer many subjects, exciting subjects, to an artist. First, it’s a quiet and solitary place to draw for the artist who do not like people peering over their shoulder. Second, there are literally dozens of subjects that offer a range of challenges such as shapes and textures, especially in old cemeteries that has weather-worn gravestones. It may sound strange, but I love sitting in graveyards and enjoy it’s range of challenging subjects.

Although I have been drawing for 50 years and spent two years as a student studying Btech Graphic Design and Illustration at Art College, I have, as a Drawing Academy student, learnt new rendering skills with a pencil. That may sound surprising, considering I have been drawing for many years; but art is a life-time of learning. The Drawing Academy can and will help you learn time proven skills and techniques, no matter how many years you have been drawing.