time required: 5+ minutes 

materials: paper, pen or pencil

Today’s exercise is creating a single-line drawing. A fast drawing exercise where the pen does not leave the paper. By limiting yourself to a single continuous line, you will have to find innovative ways to depict your subject. This exercise can help to improve hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills as you navigate the contours of your subject matter. It also challenges you to let go of perfection and relax into the process. It should feel free. The focused and repetitive nature of the activity can have a calming effect, and allow you to enter a state of flow. It promotes mindfulness by encouraging you to be fully present in the process. Single line drawing does not require previous drawing experience and you may surprise yourself!

Look at your space around you and pick any object to focus on. Without lifting your pen from the page, try to capture that object with a single line. Think of yourself as an ant that is crawling over the object and trace those “steps” with your pencil. You don’t have to follow the outline of the object - take liberties to cross through the form whenever it feels right. The end result will be more abstract. This exercise is not about perfection. It is about the process and creating a singular path across your page.  It should feel more free, and will help access a flow state and put you in a state of mindfulness.

Watching this mesmerizing footage of Pablo Picasso painting on glass (above left) offers a unique perspective of the genius at work. The footage was filmed in 1950 by Paul Haesaert for the documentary, Visit to Picasso. Artist Niels Kiene Salventius makes one line portraits in the moment with light and photography (above right).