Online Drawing Lessons, Videos, And Exercises

Many people want to know where to begin with my drawing lessons. I suggest starting with Line Drawing Parts One through Four and Drawing From Life With Expressive Line. These five lessons will give you a basic set of drawing skills. The rest of the lessons will fill in some gaps, and none need to be learned in any particular order.

Below, you will find my Graphite Pencil Drawing Lessons. These are more advanced offerings. In them, I discuss my style of pencil drawing. However, I try to write them so that anyone, from the beginner to the experienced artist, can enjoy them.

Drawing Lessons

Exercises and Art Theory

Drawing Videos

Graphite Pencil Drawing Lessons

I offer insight into my drawing style, which I learned over thirty-plus years of working with graphite pencil. Subscribe via email in the sidebar to receive notifications of new tutorials by email.

  • Dried Variegated Croton Leaf – A drawing of a dried leaf that’s curled itself into a small sculpture.
  • I’m A Shy Artist – I talk about my shyness and draw three wild grape leaves.
  • Less Than Perfect – A drawing of a small tree with a curled leaf that is actually a bug home.
  • Withered Leaf – I challenge myself by drawing a highly detailed withered leaf, which makes me appreciate my usual drawing subjects even more.
  • Three Leaves – Working with a slightly out-of-focus reference photo, I go on an emotional roller coaster ride as I fight my way through this challenging drawing.
  • Leaves In Graphite Pencil – Returning to my drawing after a break, I find both my love for the medium and insecurity about my abilities waiting for me.
  • Broken Shell In Graphite Pencil – I draw a broken shell symbolizing hidden strength.
  • Begonia With Mixed Textures – A drawing of a begonia with blended and non-blended hatching.
  • Winter Leaf – A winter leaf portrait.
  • Late Autumn Leaf – I draw a colorful autumn leaf trio in grayscale with only moderate success.
  • Lilac Leaves – After a long search and a reluctant muse, I draw big lilac leaves around tiny buds.
  • Redbud Leaves In Michigan – In this slightly wonky composition, I practice working on Fabrino Artistico Hotpress watercolor paper instead of my usual Arches.
  • Begonia Leaf Drawing – I use my non-blended method to draw these begonia leaves, right down to the tiny dot detail that covers the main leaf.
  • Begonia Drawing – An odd-looking composition inspires me to draw this begonia.
  • Succulent Drawing In Graphite – A small succulent drawn with only two pencils and a brush.
  • Dried Leaf Study in Graphite – I use my non-blended method to create a three-dimensional study of a leaf. I talk about how values fit together like a jigsaw puzzle and how important hard and soft edges are.
  • A Shell Study In Graphite – I use my brush blending technique to create a shell study. I talk about how to light a small still life and discuss form and detail.
  • Autumn Leaf With Raindrops In Graphite – A leaf with raindrops to celebrate a very wet autumn.
  • Mixed Leaves And An Artistic Slump – I draw more of my beloved foliage while wondering if I should pursue abstract art.
  • Begonia Blossom In Graphite – I draw a bright orange flower in graphite and am not too disappointed in the result.
  • Redbud Leaves in Summer – A larger-than-normal drawing for me that turned out relatively flat.
  • Xerographica Drawing In Graphite – I draw my huge Xerographica air plant with swooping and curling leaves.
  • Grape Leaves in Graphite – These grape leaves were drawn in the new non-blended method that I’m experimenting with more and more. Also, I used different paper and pencils than normal, and the world didn’t turn upside down!
  • Bee On Begonia – This bee caught my eye last summer, and I snapped an in-focus reference photo that I was proud of. This year, I finally decided I liked the composition well enough to draw it.
  • Redbud Leaves While Riding The Waves Of My Bipolar Mind – I drew Redbud leaves in a completely new style while spinning through a Bipolar hypomanic episode. Eventually, I came back down to earth, and the art isn’t bad.
  • Hosta Leaf In Autumn – A drawing that kept me dancing, down to the very last pencil stroke, trying to balance pattern, detail, and form!
  • Imperfect Rose Drawing – I draw a scarred rose from my reference photo, talk about being an INFP, and how I feel my way through a drawing in the same way I feel my way through life.
  • Two Begonias Drawn In Graphite – I chose two begonias to draw through emotion, then immediately panicked when there wasn’t enough detail to draw them as usual. Thankfully, my intuition steps in at the last moment to save the day. Whew!
  • Peony Flower In Graphite – I draw a peony from a photo reference and tell you how I soften edges, darken backgrounds evenly, and discuss the importance of value.
  • Dogwood Flower Drawing – I show you how I draw a dogwood flower from a photo reference and explain eraser and hatching techniques I’ve developed over the years.

Observation, Fantasy, and Misc.