Betty Edwards book has been a huge success.  While putting together the last but one post I found a thread  on the CGTalk forum based on the exercises in the book. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain  was the first book on drawing that I purchased and it got me started.  This was over two years ago but I haven't got around to finishing the exercises in the book.  I'm hoping to do so sometime soon and this thread will come in handy then.
get your art smarts here