We’re in the fourth week of COVID-19 lockdown. It’s certainly been tense at times in the Smith house, but we’re all still healthy, and I’m incredibly grateful for that; I sincerely hope you and your loved ones are well, too. The weather has been gorgeous for the most part, which has helped as the boys love being outdoors.

For less favourable days, I’ve tried to find some new indoor activities that we can do as a family, and I was delighted to find Draw with Rob on YouTube.

This Rob is not my hubby (which has confused more than one person! 😉 ). He’s Rob Biddulph, author and illustrator of children’s books. Rob is sharing his talent with the world in a series of draw-along videos called Draw With Rob on his YouTube channel.

Ready to draw

drawing on experience

I’ve never felt that I can draw. One memory sums it up: when Dad & I met with my Head of Sixth Form to decide which A-Level to switch to (Sociology was not for me), it was suggested that I could do Art. Dad’s response was something like, “I think Emma reached her potential at GCSE.” Haha! 🙂

Dad’s not one to mince his words, but he was absolutely right and I switched to Classics – one of the best things I’ve ever done! Anyhoo… Rob (my Rob – this could get complicated) on the other hand has got the drawing gift and Ollie has inherited his desire to draw. Ben is getting there too and has started to enjoy drawing much more in the last year.

All that said, the beauty of Draw with Rob is that he takes you through it all step-by-step. Absolutely anyone can have a go at it, regardless of experience or perceived talent, and the results will almost certainly be better than you expected.

Ollie drawing Gregosaurus’s eye

Ben drawing Gregosaurus’s eye

We drew the gorgeous Gregosaurus who appears in Rob B’s book Dinosaur Juniors. Most of the characters in the series feature in Rob’s books, although I spotted one today that brought back memories from my school days! Rob S and I will enjoy trying that one. Nope, I’m not going to tell you who it is – you’ll have to find out for yourself 😉

Rob adding colour

Emma adding colour

One tip from me is to watch the videos on a laptop or tablet that you can easily pause and unpause. We all drew at different speeds so needed to stop, and occasionally rewind. It just didn’t work on our TV as the paused display would obscure some of the screen.

drum roll…

The video was a little over 10 minutes long, so it’s perfect for those with a short attention span (like our eldest!). With some pausing while we drew and time spent colouring afterwards, it kept us all happily occupied for around 45 minutes. And below are the results!

Clockwise from top left: Emma, Ben, Ollie, Rob

Ollie decided to keep his as a pencil drawing; Ben went with a vibrant “more is more” option! I enjoyed colouring  – it’s very therapeutic – but my technique could do with some finessing. As expected, I feel that Rob S came out on top 🙂

thankful

Personally, I’m trying to focus on every positive that I can at the moment. And one huge positive is that so many talented people are reaching out to the world and offering everybody a chance to try something that, perhaps, they never thought they could do.

It’s heartwarming and I hope this sort of kind-hearted spirit continues well after we’ve got through this crisis. And, I don’t mean people should necessarily carry on offering their skills for free; I’m thinking more about the sense of global togetherness, looking out for each other and doing what we can to make life bearable in this most awful time.

Rainbow

Have you tried out a new online tutorial? If you know anyone who’s shared something, or maybe you have 🙂 please let us all know in the comments below.

Be kind, smile & laugh every day and know that Together-We-Are-Stronger xx

Bye for now!