Getting Ready

• 1). Take your art materials someplace that's comfortable and free from distractions. Make sure the space is well-ventilated and has plenty of natural light.
  
  
• 2). Place your pad of paper on the table.
  
  
• 3). Pose your model at an appropriate distance. If your model is an inanimate object, place it or arrange it in a way that meets your personal aesthetic criteria; random placement is OK, and so is meticulous arrangement of diverse elements. If your model is a live human being, pose the model in a posture that won't be too difficult to maintain for half an hour or more.
  
  
• 4). Look at the model. While you're looking, take note of all of your sensory impressions and any emotions or mental images the model might inspire.
  
  
• 5). Look at your paper, visualizing an image you'd like to see there. It might be a literal representation of your model, or an entirely different image inspired by what you've seen.
  
  

Creating Art

• 1). Using very light pencil strokes, sketch an outline of the image you visualized in Step 5 (Getting Started).
  
  
• 2). Dip your brush in the container of water.
  
  
• 3). Dip your brush in paint, selecting a color you visualized in Step 5 (Getting Started).
  
  
• 4). Apply paint to the paper, creating a physical manifestation of your image.
  
  
• 5). Step back for some critical distance and look at your work, assessing the success or failure of your effort to translate the image from your imagination onto the paper.
  
  
• 6). Look at the model.
  
  
• 7). Step back and look at your work again, assessing the success or failure of your effort to translate the essence of your model onto the paper.
  
  
• 8). Peel your sheet of paper off the pad, wad it up, and throw it in the wastebasket.
  
  
• 9). Repeat steps 1-8 until your soul has drained entirely from your body and permeates the paper. It might take a while, but when this happens, you will know.
  
  
• 10
  
  Sign and frame.