In this guide for the absolute beginner, artist Zoe Ingram shows you that just drawing very simple lines and shapes can have a powerful meditative effect, and at the same time create beautiful art you can be proud of.

Everyone can draw You can draw if you can hold a pen or pencil and move it across a page. Sometimes, when people say that they can’t draw, it’s maybe because they don’t know WHAT to draw. Or the expectations they place on themselves are very high. They expect to be able to draw photo-realistic portraits or technically precise and correct botanicals. You don’t have to consider yourself an ‘artist’ to draw, so let go of that idea immediately. Another reason that some people believe they can’t draw is that they got to a certain age, were criticised, developed a harsh inner critic, and decided that they couldn’t draw. You’ll see your confidence and skills grow as long as you remain open to trying and having a go. Relax into it. The scary blank page can be a hurdle to drawing, so if you’re stuck for things to draw or don’t know where to start, this book might help. In the projects section, there are lots of ideas to get you started. Once you have a prompt for what to draw, it doesn’t matter how experienced you are. You just put pen to paper and go for it. Keep an open mind and believe in yourself. Let go of perfection I encourage you to have an ‘oh, well’ attitude regarding these projects. The exercises in this book are supposed to relax you, not stress you out. It’s okay to want to strive to do the absolute best drawing you can do. But sometimes, if we pressure ourselves to be perfect like this, it can be pretty oppressive and cause anxiety, which isn’t what we want. Leave your ego at the door and be prepared to mess up, smudge, scribble and embrace the imperfect wobbly lines. Making your soul feel good comes from trying new things, experimenting, and letting go of that perfectionism. The aim of this book The purpose of this book is to get you into a beautifully relaxed flow state while drawing. Relinquish stress and enjoy the process. I want you to feel comfortable and happy when you’re drawing, so I have tried to make each project reasonably simple so that you can become fully absorbed in the process. For example, you can make it more challenging by drawing with your non-dominant hand. This book isn’t a how-to-draw book, but a ‘let’s have fun, try it and take it further’ book. You might find that specific projects appeal to you more than others, perhaps more abstract repetitive drawings, and you want to do more and more of those. Or you may love drawing expressive inky chickens. You don’t have to do each project only once. Do them again and again if you love them. And you don’t have to do the projects in order. Feel free to jump around and try whatever takes your fancy. It’s important to remember that what inspires me may not be what inspires you, so find what lights you up and draw that! One last thing. Don’t worry about not having suitable materials or if you’re doing it wrong, for that matter. You can always choose an alternative if you don’t have a particular pen that I might mention, and if you want to start again, just grab another piece of paper and go for it.