9 TIPS TO HELP IMPROVE YOUR DRAWING SKILLS

Fire of Moods

Are you looking to enhance your drawing skills and create stunning artwork? Here are some valuable tips to help you level up your drawing game:

1. Practice, practice, practice: Like any skill, drawing requires consistent practice. Dedicate regular time to draw and experiment with different techniques. Set achievable goals and gradually increase the complexity of your subjects.

2. Start with the basics: Build a strong foundation by focusing on fundamental skills such as lines, shapes, shading, and proportions. Mastering these essentials will provide a solid framework for your future drawings.

3. Observe and analyze: Train your eye to observe details in your surroundings. Study the objects, people, and nature around you. Pay attention to light and shadow, textures, and perspectives. This practice will improve your ability to recreate what you see on paper.

4. Experiment with different mediums: Don’t limit yourself to just one drawing tool. Explore various mediums like…

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A Literal Tower

The Twisting Tail

This building is like a book. Its architecture is the binding, its text is in the glass and sculpture.

Malcolm Miller

Alice down the rabbit hole
restlessly inquisitive by nature
The child seeks enlightenment
Placing innocence in danger


funnel as receptacle
the hollow silo
airs of fulfillment


Artist Ilan Manouach bound together 21,450 pages of the popular Japanese comic “One Piece,” and, in doing so, he created what is believed to be the longest book ever—so long that it is physically impossible to read.


A barricade of books
Steps in equal measure
A cascade on the ramparts
Words littered with pleasure


Spines out
Flesh within
Inverted halo
Treasured sin


On November 30, 2000, a wall designed by Luz Darriba became the largest structure made of books. (649,000 books)


Dorothy flighted apon
The imaginary tornado
To travel, yet stay at home
Is the only way to go


A honeycomb well
of…

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Happy Summer Solstice!

Raffaello Palandri's Blog

Today it’s Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere (and of course, Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere), let’s celebrate it!

Stonehenge, image taken from Internet

Today the star we orbit around reaches its highest point in the Northern sky, marking the longest day and the shortest night of the year.

Dating back thousands of years, the Summer Solstice has been revered and celebrated by diverse cultures around the world. Ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians, Greeks, and Celts, recognized this solstice as a pivotal moment of transition and renewal.
These ancient cultures have often linked this day with the forces of fertility, growth, and abundance.

One of the most famous ancient cult places and observatories is the Neolithic monument found in Stonehenge, England, which is aligned with the sunrise on the solstice, allowing the first rays of sunlight to penetrate its stone formations. Even if we still ignore the exact…

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Happy International Day of Yoga!!

Raffaello Palandri's Blog

Today we celebrate the International Day of Yoga.

This worldwide celebration wants to spread awareness about holistic health and fitness by practising a millenary discipline such as Yoga.

This year’s International Yoga Day 2023 theme is Vasdhaiv Kutumbakam.

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakamवसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् is a Sanskrit phrase that literally means ‘the whole world is a single family‘ or ‘the world is one family‘. This phrase is derived from Chapter 6 of Maha Upanishad, verses 71-73:
अयं निजः परो वेति गणना लघुचेतसाम्।
उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्॥
This verse of Maha Upanishad is engraved in the entrance hall of the Parliament Of India.

Image taken from Internet

Yoga is a holistic discipline encompassing physical, mental, and spiritual practices which originated in ancient India more than two thousand years ago.

The ultimate goals of Yoga are stilling the mind and gaining insight, resting in…

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Good People Doing Good Things — Dr. Ricardo Pun-Chong

Filosofa's Word

Once again, I must offer apologies for reprising a good people post from 2018.  I had a good person, had started writing the post, ran into a glitch, then got pulled away by events beyond my control, and now I am out of time.  However, I think that Dr. Pun-Chong is deserving of a 2nd pass, and I hope you’ll think so too!


Amidst all the chaos we are confronted with every day, it is a breath of fresh air to meet people who rise above the detritus to make a genuine contribution to people in need.  Today I would like to introduce you to one such man, Dr. Ricardo Pun-Chong of Lima, Peru.Ten years ago, Dr. Pun-Chong was completing his medical training in several hospitals in Lima.  Day after day, he noticed families sleeping on the floors. Many of them, he learned, had come from faraway villages, with…

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Low vaccine rate puts Fort Worth at risk of measles outbreak | Fort Worth Star-Telegram

When students returned to schools, Fernando added, the urgent need to get students’ caught up on lessons they had missed meant some schools relaxed their vaccination policies. And finally, misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine and its safety has spilled over into other vaccines.

Source: Low vaccine rate puts Fort Worth at risk of measles outbreak | Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Joyful, wistful, bountiful… The UWI Singers’ cheerful return to the Jamaican stage

Petchary's Blog

On a fine Saturday afternoon, as the sun began to lose some of its heat, we congregated outside the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts on the University of the West Indies (UWI) campus. The usual snacks and drinks were laid out on a table in the front, ably managed by a group of teenagers who were perfecting their sales skills. We nibbled.

We were all looking forward to the performance by the UWI Singers, which is currently celebrating its 65th Annual Concert Season. As President Gavane Ferguson (what a fine tenor voice he has!) told me:

Our choir’s vision is to inspire and uplift through the power of music, fostering a love for
the arts within our community, while providing a platform for students to showcase their
talent. For the past six and a half decades, we have been successfully nurturing this vision…

Gavane Ferguson, President, UWI…

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