#DrawWithKeith

YouTube cover art for the original image vs. the #DrawWithKeith version produced live.

In 2020 I began #DrawWithKeith as a way to cope the pandemic and being locked up in the house!

I’ve always enjoyed hand drawing, first and foremost over painting, coloring and even digital art. So in an effort to stay connected with friends and kind of interact with them, I “launched” #DrawWithKeith which was me going live on Instagram for 20-40 minutes while I teach people to draw.

The setup included my phone perched above my drawing space. I had instances of promoting that I will be going live via a post the night before, and time I’ll be going live, typically around 9PM, after my daughter was in bed :)

Once I went live, I would wait to see if anyone would jump on, greeting them, giving them time to grab a pencil, pen, paper and/or coloring utensils.

Then I got started, doing my best to guide the viewers through my work. Typically what I drew was way too complicated but it was what I wanted to draw. I’m no teacher, that’s my wife, but I did my best to communicate the process, simplifying what I was doing.

I initially did this daily during the pandemic, because, you know, we had time. It then switched to weekly for a little bit. But died out, especially once we moved in April of 2020. But before it did, my work noticed and had me do a few LIVE #DrawWithKeith ‘s on social media. Video below.

I resurrected the process periodically over the years, whether it was for the election, or someones birthday, or when someone would say “hey, do this again!”. Over time I took request, getting peoples input on what to draw, even allowing them to vote. After resurecting it in 2024, I did a few initial weeks based on hot topics from the past few years including Taylor Swift, The Queen’s passing, Grimace Shake, and Barbenheimer.

I have enjoyed it, for a while it just reminded me of the pandemic, but now I like to use it as a casual outlet.

View more #DrawWithKeith on Instagram.

- The Media Buff