Erasing the chalk drawing is never easy. It’s hard for two reasons, one because I usually really like it and want to keep it up forever, and the other reason is the daunting pressure to create something new. The blank black chalkboard is not inspiring for me at all. It’s rather stressful actually. I know the finished artwork contradicts my non-artistic abilities, but I think when you see the several attempts I go through, you’ll have a better understanding of how challenging artwork actually is for me. So since it’s challenging for me, I’d like to offer a few tips.
Tip 1: Copy. Don’t worry about coming up with something you imagine. Even artists copy something, be it a live scene, a photographs or something else.
Tip 2: Copy in the same medium as you are using. This isn’t always feasible, but I find it more challenging to copy from a photograph.
Tip 3: Try. You won’t know if you don’t try it. You may not even know your own abilities or talents. It certainly takes practice, but you might surprise yourself.
EDIT: I drew the Blue Mosque, but called Hagia Sophia. I confused the two thinking they were the same. I’ll decide what to do later when I get to our Middle Ages and Silk Road unit. Here’s what I originally wrote for this post:
I chose to draw the Hagia Sophia for a few reasons. I wanted a scene that would work for our Ramadan lessons and provide a beautiful backdrop to our homeschool during this time, but also something that could transition into our Middle Ages and Silk Road unit that’s coming up in the following school year. The Hagia Sophia has a long history. It was a cathedral for most of its history, but when the Muslims conquered Constantinople, the city was renamed Istanbul and the cathedral was converted into a mosque. The chalk drawing on the right will be erased to make room for a Medieval castle or something related to the Silk Road, while the Hagia Sophia will remain, at least that’s the plan.
You can check out the Botany Chalk Drawing I had to erase to draw Hagia Sophia.
I searched online for images to copy, and after a few attempts, I referred to a few books in our personal library. The Mosque of Cordoba Told to Children, 16th Century Mosque and Golden Dome, Silver Lantern came in handy, but I ended up finding inspiration for this drawing from a drawing I found online. You can see more artwork from this artist, Candace Roserardon, here:
Here’s the tutorial on how I painted our slate chalkboard.
