Importance of slowing down

Hey guys,

Looking over a lot of student work I'm starting to see a pattern.  Consistent panicked drawings
with careless mistakes due to intimidation by the clock.  Remember that more marks don't
equate to better drawings.  I'm apprenticing with Kevin Chen and there's something he said
that I think I should share with you.  " If in 5 min all you get is a head, shoulder and ribcage, that's fine.
I'd rather your marks be correct than have you rush and draw all the way down to the foot and have proportion, form
and shapes off."

I was fortunate enough to take a class with Mark Westermoe back when Associates was open.  If you
watched him draw you would think he was the slowest artist ever.  But he always got more "actual" drawings
done than any of us in the time allotted because all the marks he made meant more than any of ours.  We
just had a lot of lines.  His 5-10 min drawings were well.... pretty much finished.

So remember, take your time, have a clear goal in mind for the drawing, look twice and mark once.
I've been getting more done the past few months since I started slowing down.
If you draw fast and it's consistently off in areas, you're training yourself to draw badly.  This is when
bad habits form.  It's not a race.  I know we get impatient because we want to get to the final product.
I've been guilty of that too   Try and enjoy the process.  Drawing and painting is suppose to be fun; remember?