Art Lesson #20: Draw Something from Memory

Treat it like a game!

Can you rely on your memory to draw a picture?

The other day I went out to a little island in the Columbia River for a kayaking lesson. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, the water was calm and mirror-like, and we’d be paddling around a picturesque houseboat community, with Mt. Hood smiling benevolently down upon us. I knew that many lovely paintings and drawings could come from this outing, but I’d paid for a lesson and I was there to paddle, not draw. I left my phone on dry land. We could all use a little time away from our phones.

But of course, at the end of the lesson, when we were all just floating around and chatting, I kept admiring the view and wishing I had some way to capture it. Then I thought, “I do. I have my memory.”

So I made a close study of the place. There was Mt. Hood, obviously, on the horizon. I had a bit of a head start there, because I see it all the time and I’ve drawn it a lot.

In front of Mt. Hood, some low bluish-greenish hills.

I realize now that there were a bunch …