I was always impressed with the work of surrealistic artist Salvador Dali. To me, he tapped into another part of his brain, much like we do during the “dream state” while sleeping, but he could access the dream state while awake.

One of his works, “The City of Drawers,” fascinated me. As an undergrad in college, I took an introductory art class — part of my general education requirements.

While I had taken drafting in high school, I certainly had no talent for freehand drawing. However, our professor taught us a special skill – “The Grid Method.”

Using The Grid Method, a small grid is placed over the original artwork that you want to enlarge. A larger grid, for example, with squares 2 or 3 times as large as the grid squares placed on the original artwork, is then layed out on blank paper or canvas. Use a light pencil to lay out the grid, so the lines can easily be erased.

Whatever is seen in a small square, is then drawn in the corresponding larger square. It doesn’t seem like it would help you to draw better, but it works.

Below is a picture of the drawing that I completed in my class. The Grid Method enabled me to draw Dali’s “City of Drawers.” I have to say, I was pretty surprised!

This method allows you to scale a drawing up or down in size. It is extremely helpful in getting the proportions correct.

Of course, if you have access to an overhead or digital projector, then that’s a good option too.

However, I found rather than being overwhelmed by the entire drawing, focusing on one square at a time enabled me to do a better job on shading.

If you thought that you could never draw, then try this method. Bob Ross would be proud and so will you!