Baby, it's COLD Outside! Stay Inside and Sketch!

Sitting here this morning the sun is brilliant as it reflects off the new snow!  My laptop weather bug reads 5 degrees!  That is cold.  I know that cloud cover is like a blanket that traps warm air to the earth.  So I guess the trade to see the sun in winter in the midwest is this arctic cold!? 
Life is like that.  There is always a trade, isn't there?  You give up one thing for something else.  So what will you give up for your art?
I ask that question because I think we all make decisions that take us places.  But do we do it with intention or trial and error?  With purpose or do we allow life to float us along on the tide? 
With the sketchbook challenge, I want to encourage you to make a decision to put art in your life daily.  It's a small step that does not require that great a sacrifice!  But you WILL see rewards.  And if you can learn to draw better, your art will improve as well.  I'm glad the importance of drawing was drilled into me in school.  It has served me well.  I believe it is foundational. 
As I said, the object is to learn to see better.  The sketch is secondary, really.  Seeing what is really there is what we miss so often.  This weeks suggestion is to do the "dot to line" drawing.  The above sketch is an example I did today in less than 5 minutes.  Basically making a small dot every time the object makes a direction change. It is really a form of countour drawing, where geometry is critical.  Draw a round apple with this method.  Lots of dots and small straight lines?  Make it fun and learn to see direction changes while you draw!
Today is worldwide Sketchcrawl day.  Visit the link: http://www.sketchcrawl.com/ to see the concept and the fun.  I will try to get a group together to do the next sketchcrawl-are you game??
Stay indoors and warm and SKETCH this week!