If you’re having a hankering to unleash your inner visual artist, or to collaborate with others artistically, or just to get out and learn something new, you’d better mark Saturday, June 15 in your calendar so you can be sure to join the 4th Annual Vancouver Draw Down at one of their 35 FREE drawing workshops, hosted at venues across the city.

According to their website:

“Vancouver Draw Down is a celebration of drawing in everyday life that challenges preconceptions about drawing and works to reconnect EVERYONE with the power and creative pleasure of making marks. […] Projects, developed and led by professional artists, offer the opportunity to explore drawing in person and online. This day-long, city wide celebration focuses on the process, pleasure and diversity of drawing, rather than on skill and technical ability.”

Photo: Melissa Baker

At one point or another, I’m sure we’ve all enjoyed doodling, or crafting, or the simple satisfaction of making something. Sometimes we’ve wanted to hone our skills independently. Sometimes we’ve wanted to create a spirit of community by creating something with other people. With focuses ranging from independent creation, to collaborative work, to surprisingly athletic feats of visual artistry, there should be at least one Draw Down workshop that’ll rock your artsy soul.

[Note that the links I’ve provided above represent only THREE of the 35 Draw Down events running on June 15. Please visit the Vancouver Draw Down website to explore all of the events and find your passion and play. I mean, there’s even a workshop where you colour with GIANT CRAYONS for goodness sakes!]

Photo: Josh Hite

RELATED EVENT: ONLINE DAILY DRAWING PROJECT

As a lead-up to the June 15 events, Draw Down is also facilitating a 10-day Online Daily Drawing Project (June 4 – 14). Participation in the Daily Drawing Project is a pretty simple affair: just follow Vancouver Draw Down on Facebook (facebook.com/VancouverDrawDown) or Twitter (@VanDrawDown) and be on the look out for your daily drawing instructions. You can either choose the “Challenging” instructions (15-minute drawings) or the “Just For Fun” instructions (5-minute drawings). You draw, share, and spend the rest of the day basking in artistic glory. Voila.