Drawing requires an artist to visually analyze a subject. One of the first art lessons for an adult is the importance of observation. With a traditional still life such as a bowl of fruit, it's important to look at each element and see how it relates to all other elements. Where is the stem of the apple in relation to the tip of the banana? New art students often fall into a common trap of starting a drawing in a corner or on one side of the paper. An early lesson for adults should include using a center point as a guide for the spatial relationships of elements in a drawing.
Art lessons introduce adults to a new type of vocabulary. Artists use lines and shapes to express different qualities of a subject. New artists need to learn the different effects that can be achieved with lines and shapes. Bold and thick outlines allow artists to emphasize form. Lines can also create a sense of movement. Shapes, either solid or shaded in different tones, create an impression of mass and can be used to achieve a more realistic and organic effect.
A black and white drawing is rarely ever just two tones.Understanding that black and white drawings often incorporate many different shades of gray called "tones" or "values" is a valuable lesson for adult art students. Tones add a sense of volume or mass to a drawing and capture the three-dimensional quality of the subject.The traditional techniques to add value to shading, such as lines that are gradually drawn closer together, or thatching, the use of both vertical and horizontal lines, or simply bearing down harder on a pencil, can be mastered with practice. These techniques allow new artists to produce realistic drawings -- a quality often equated with success. For adults, success builds confidence and unleashes creativity.
Research shows that adult learners are self-directed and take charge of their educational experiences by setting their own goals and deciding which methods work best for them. Art encourages those qualities, and success is often a process of developing unique solutions to expression. Art lessons should provide positive reinforcement so adults acquire the confidence to create their own methods or artistic style. Adult learners also depend on their personal experiences in educational settings. Art teachers can capitalize on that trait by giving adult students the freedom to use other types of knowledge as part of the process of learning about art.