Hi Andrea, I think you're off to a great start. If you can keep than zen relaxation that's obviously ideal, this stuff can definitely be a challenge! There's absolutely nothing wrong with drawing the same pose a few times, it's actually a really smart way to practice and understand the figure better. There's no reason the first attempt at a pose should be the last and getting better at this stuff is all about building that intuition through repetition. Anyways, keep having fun with it, drawing is a very fulfilling thing to improve at! I thought I'd share some of my favorite gesture drawings by a wonderful artist named Glen Orbik that may inspire your own drawings! Best of luck : )

Well, art understands no age anyway! There's this modern thing where the quicker the better kind of thing is going on in gesture drawing community. I even fell for it when I started years ago. The method is not necessarily bad, but it is just not for everyone, especially for people who are just starting out, or are just not that into that kind of rush. 45 seconds may be just enough time for people who have like years of experience doing these gesture drawings, because they've probably done the same poses over and over throughout their career. But if you're just starting out, take your time. Instead of spending your free time doing 10 or 20 pieces of 45-second gesture drawings, settle down for 2 or 3 pieces of 5-minute ones. And when there's one particular 5-minute gesture that you really like, take your next day free time to make that gesture into a full detailed one-hour artwork. You will gain more improvement this way, not just in gesture, but also in overall figurative-art-making skills (like shading, line work, and values).

Hey Andrea, To begin with, 45 seconds is too short of time to get a good gesture drawing. To do it that fast is very advanced. You need to understand what gesture is and take time practicing it. You should take as much time as you need to really understand it. I took some of your drawings and did a quick draw over to show how your gestures should look. I hope this is helpful :)