Something Precious

I drew this Teddy Bear, which is older than me! I used pen, pencil crayon and watercolours. It's not a finished drawing and you can still see the wet paint I used to put shadows in. He's sitting on my work desk next to a glass to give an idea of scale. He’s so old that I almost can’t remember the blue grey colour he used to be before his fur fell away leaving threadbare cloth.

Drawing by Alison Kershaw

Here’s a new project for you to do at home.

Think about your most treasured possessions. What do you have around you that is very precious to you? I don't mean valuable in a sense of money - I mean something that means a lot to you. It could be something passed down through generations, or it could be your favourite old t shirt. It could be a photograph or it could be a mug you love to drink from - it could be your armchair or it could be a pet.

Get some art materials ready - pencil, pen and paper or crayons, paint set and pad. Or get your camera ready. Get yourself comfortable with your “precious thing” and look at it carefully for 5 minutes. Let all the ideas and thoughts about it come to your mind. Now set down your object so you can see both it AND your paper without having to move your head around too much. Make sure you are comfortable before you start drawing.

Now draw your object in as much detail as you can, take your time, don't rush it - follow the lines, shapes, colours and textures and try and get all that down in your drawing. You can also continue your drawing to include the table, background and other things you can see around your precious thing.

(tip - IF YOU CAN, it often helps to only look through ONE EYE! - because this helps to flatten the image before you)

If you don’t want to draw, you could photograph or write about the object - describe it in words and what it means to you.

Or you can do both , image AND words on one piece of paper or separate sheets.

If it doesn't work out the first time, don't worry - take a break and come back and try again later.

I’m not looking for a masterpiece here, so don't worry if it's not perfect and don't worry if you think it's not good enough - it will still be interesting to see and share with us.

Pls send your contribution to stlukesmanchester@gmail.com

Many Thanks,

Alison and the Art Team TLC