📕 Part 1: Drawing/painting

So let's talk about painting or drawing. Do you like painting or drawing?

Not really, these days. I doodle when I'm, I don't know, when I'm in dull lectures to keep my wandering mind active. But that doesn't really count, does it?

Have you ever learned painting or drawing?

We used to do it quite often in school, though I was never particularly good at it. It was always a bother to make things realistic or colour inside of the lines. Since then, I've made sporadic attempts at learning and trying to draw, but nothing formal in the sense of actual lessons.

Is it easy to learn how to draw?

I think that depends on how much time and patience you have for it. In addition to whether, well, you have good teachers and role models. I had none of that. So it wasn't very easy for me. Although I do remember a time when I was very young, that it just came naturally to me. I'm sure it does for some talented people, but most of us just have to work at it.

How often do you paint or draw?

Well, like I say, I sometimes doodle and scribble in lectures, but that's about it, really. I can't remember the last time I made a serious effort to draw something or someone. It must have been years ago when I was trying to depict a character from one of my books. And even that wasn't a particularly great effort.

What do you like to draw?

Well, my doodles usually have sharp edges and dark colours, although that might just be because all I have is a like a fine tip pen that uses black ink. So that just means these are the easiest things to draw. But mostly there is no pattern. It's just random shapes.

What do you know about painting?

Just to teach it to small people, really. We talk about mixing colours, and how tones, and shades, and tints can be made and changed, and how to reflect on work to improve it next time. So if you wanted to talk about that, then I'd be okay. But if you wanted to talk about the history of art or how to critique it, then you'd be out of luck because I'm a novice in that respect.

Thank you, Rory! Now you've painted a very rosy picture of the vocabulary and grammar we can use about painting or drawing! -

So first of all, what's the difference between drawing and painting? I'll tell you. I've found some picture.

I like... It's a rhetorical question. What is the difference? I will tell you.

Yeah, okay. I've found some random picture on the internet. And I'm going to believe it. And surely it's the truth and nothing but the truth. So drawing is about plans, and the lines, and shapes, usually done on one colour.

In one colour, you mean?

Ah, it says on one colour. Okay?

Well, that's wrong.

So usually you use one colour and you usually use pencils or pens, or some crayons, perhaps, brushes. Yep. Painting. Painting is the practice of applying colour to a paper or canvas. You know, these painters have a canvas. Imagine this Dali painting his paintings with a canvas. So it's about colour and form. Right? And drawing is with one colour, painting, you use different colours. And it's about like a watercolour, or oil, or other types of paints. Rory, did you get the difference?

Probably. But for me painting is with a paintbrush and liquid that you... You can't see what I'm doing. But I'm moving my hand in the way that you use the paintbrush if you're rubbish at painting. And drawing is about using a pen or a pencil. That is my definition. And that's what I'm sticking with.

Correct. So Rory, you told us that you doodle. Google? Doo, doodle? You doodle?

Doodle. You know, when you're bored, and you just draw small pictures?

So you doodle and that could be considered as drawing. Yeah?

Maybe not particularly good drawing.

So you can say like I usually doodle to keep my wandering mind active.

So if your mind is wandering, then you're not focusing and an active mind is doing something.

Now, you said that we used to do it at school. So like I think everybody used to paint or draw at school. So like, painting lessons. Would you call these, these lessons? Like painting, drawing classes?

I think we just called it Art. Art lessons.

Okay, okay. Art lessons. And then Rory said it was always a bother. So Rory is not into painting or drawing. But, dear listener, if you enjoyed it or you enjoy it, you can say like I was fond of, or I'm fond of. I'm a fan of, I really enjoy it. That's my passion. I can't leave without drawing or painting. So for some people, it came naturally. Like they just you know, they're born and they can draw, or paint. Just like that, right? But for others, you need time and patience.

You could talk about, there's another one. There's another one that you could use for like, anytime someone asks you about something like, I think depends how much time and patience you have.

Yeah. So together with doodle, you said scribble. You scribble in lectures.

In fairness scribble is just like, messy and fast handwriting. So it's not quite the same.

So when Rory answers questions about painting or drawing, he uses word doodling and scribbling. Okay.

The same for writing to be honest.

So dear listener, now you can understand how far Rory is from drawing or painting.

Yeah, very far.

And then the question is like, what do you like to draw? Even if you say I hate drawing, I've never drawn anything in my life. The examiner would continue. What do you like to draw? And you can talk about your doodles, because to doodle is a verb and doodles. You can use it as a noun. My doodles, my kind of silly drawings. And then you've mentioned that you use dark colours. And you have a fine tip pen. Yeah?

Yes. That's just one kind of pen. There are different kinds. You have a ballpoint pen. For pencils, you have a lead pencil. I don't know. There are different kinds of pencil.

Yeah, we talked about it.

We did, but it was so long ago.

Yeah, it was. Yeah, dear listener, if you want to know some nice vocabulary about pens, check out our episode about pens, which was ages ago.

It's one of our very first ones. I'm pretty sure. It was like three years.

Yeah, that's like, it was fun. So when Rory doodles, there is no pattern, just random shapes. And this could be called drawing, to be honest with you. Maybe you should save it, Rory. And then we can sell it. Like, oh, this Rory from the podcast. These are his doodles and then we make millions of pounds. How about that?

I don't think that's something that anyone is likely to pay money for.

No, just you wait, you wait. Oka?. Give us 10 more years, we're gonna go like, you know, super popular. And we'll sell your doodles.

Okay. Come back to me in 2032, and we'll see how that goes.

Yeah. Okay. I'll see ya. Yeah, dear listener, if you enjoy painting, you do need specific vocabulary about painting. So we don't give you vocabulary about painting. But, again, if you enjoy painting, make sure you use different words about paints and canvas, and different oil paints.

Brushstrokes. That's the movement of the brush.

Color schemes. Yep. Yep. Then what do you know about painting? Well, nothing much. And Rory said that, oh, this is what you teach those small people, small people like children.

I just know how to teach it to small people. That's all. I wouldn't say that I'm an expert, though. And indeed, someone who is not an expert, who is just at the very beginning is called a novice. And you can say a novice in that respect. That respect refers to something that you talked about previously. So here it was art history and how to critique, which means to judge art. But I'm a novice in that respect, because I don't know how to do it. I just see a nice picture. And I'm like, oh, it's a nice picture. It's better than anything I could do. Fantastic.

Yeah, Rory looks at the painting. And then he goes, oh, that's nice picture.

But behold, we have settled upon another phrase that we could use in any circumstance. So the phrases if you wanted to talk about blah, blah, blah, then you'd be out of luck. Because I'm a novice in that respect. So you just say like, if you want to talk about and then like, some superior subject, then you say, well, you're out of luck. And if you're out of luck, it just means that you can't talk to me about it, or you can't do anything with it. Because I'm a beginner and I don't know anything about it.

Sweet. Sweet.

Let's try it.

Yeah, we'll do, we'll do. I'll ask you some questions about what? About fountains, different types fountains. Different types of, I don't know, carpets or windows. Let's talk about carpets.

I bet there's gonna be a set of questions about carpets. No, we have questions about mirrors. So now it's a fresh IELTS question. So please listen to mirrors. Let's talk about carpets. Let's talk about, I don't know, walls, wallpaper. I don't know. Candles, candles. There we go, Rory, let's talk about candles. What types of candles do you prefer?

What types of candles are there?

No, you should be using the strategy.

I don't know. I'm not a candle. Oh, right. Okay. I thought, I thought we were gonna like explore that. I thought you were going to talk to me about the vocabulary first. Sorry, right. So, I know that there were big and small candles. But if you wanted to talk about the history of candles, or different types in more detail, then you'd be out of luck, because I'm a novice in that respect.

There you go. Bravo. Bravo. So, the vocabulary. The vocabulary about colours first. You did say like mixing colours, or how tones, shades and tints can be made and changed. So these ones are really good about drawing and paintings. So what tones, shades and tints are?

Well, a shade is just a colour but with black added to make it darker and a tint is a colour with white added to make it lighter. And a tone is any colour with gray added to sort of bring it down a little bit.

Yes, correct.

That's what they are. How they work I have no idea because like I say, I'm a novice in that respect. I'm not an expert in that respect. There we go.

Dear listener, don't overdo it. Okay? Once is enough.

I'm overdoing it because I want to draw attention to the fact that it's useful.

Yeah. Yeah.

And because I had too much energy drink.

Yeah. And if you say it... If you don't say it, naturally, the examiner would look at you like, what? You've learned this cliche, and now you're just, you know, repeating what you have learned...

It's not a cliche, it's something that I made up that can only be heard on this podcast, but is actually sophisticated enough to get you a high score.

Band nine score.

I am a useful person.

But you should sound natural. And for this reason, so before we say goodbye, Rory is gonna say one sentence. I want you to listen to the sentence, stop the podcast and repeat the sentence, copying Rory's voice, intonation and how he says it. Okay? Are you ready? Yeah.

No.

There gonna be some active listening. So Rory is going to say a sentence, it's going to be short. So listen, stop, repeat, and then continue. Okay? All right, Rory, tell us the sentence about doodling. So I doodle...

I doodle when I'm in dull lectures.

Excellent. Now dear listener, repeat, repeat and copy Rory's intonation.

That's a hard one because you've got dull and lectures next each other. So it's like they come together it's like dull lectures.

Dull lectures. Okay. Now, another sentence with doodle and scribble.

I sometimes doodle and scribble in lectures, but that's about it, really.

Okay. Another sentence about, again, my doodles.

My doodles usually have sharp edges and dark colours.

And the last sentence about pattern and no shapes.

Well, mostly, there is no pattern, it's just random shapes.

Dear listener, you should repeat the sentence with the same intonation, with attention to pauses. So wherever he makes little pauses when he stops, you know, because it's natural. And this is how you should sound. Okay, let's go with last question. Could you repeat everything, but breaking it down. So repeat all the sentences here, breaking them down.

I just know how to teach it to small people really. We talk a lot about mixing colours, how tones, shades and tints can be made and changed, and how to reflect on work and improve it next time. If you wanted to talk about art history or how to critique it, then you'd be out of luck. I'm a novice in that respect.

Yay. Now, dear listener, you can go back. Listen, stop and repeat. This is useful for your fluency, for your pronunciation. And also, like you notice these intonation patterns, the pauses, natural pauses, and this is, this is useful. That's it, do it.

Here's a fun call to action. Let's see if this works. So the phrases, if you wanted to talk about art history, or how to critique it, then you'd be out of luck. I'm an opposite in that respect. So I'm interested to see if other people can do this for different topics. So if we take the structure like if you wanted to talk about blah, blah, blah, then you'd be out of luck. I'm a novice in that respect. I'd like you to use that sentence and send me a recording of your voice, just talking about something. So it could be like, if you wanted to talk about what's a really advanced subject, like, yeah, if you want to just talk about nuclear physics, then you'd be out of luck. I'm a novice in that respect. So yeah, just record yourself saying that and see how it goes, and send it to me on Instagram. And I'll, uh, well, oh, I'll get a laugh out of it. But also, I'll be able to give you a little bit of feedback on that as well.

Yeah, or you can actually post it on your Instagram and then tag our podcast. Success with IELTS. So yeah, let's start this new like, thing for the stories. And the topic could be as ridiculous as... Carpets or wallpaper.

But it's got to be something advanced connected to it. So it can't just be like, if you wanted to talk about art, then you'd be out of luck. Because I'm a novice in that respect. It'd have to be like, if you wanted to talk about and then something advanced connected to art. So if you wanted to talk about art history, or if you wanted to talk about Russian history, then you'd be out of luck because I'm a novice in that respect. It's got to be something advanced. It can't just be a basic concept. It's got to be something advanced, or funny or outrageous, but not something simple.

Yes, yes. Let's do this. So post it on your Instagram, into your stories, tag Success with IELTS and let's share this nice strategy of answering any question in IELTS speaking.

And if you're shy, then you can send it to us privately and that will be okay.

Yeah, true.

Anyway, until then...

Goodbye!

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