Breadth or Depth in Drawing?

Should you learn to draw lots of things? or learn to draw one thing well?

"The work of most mature artists reveals a pattern of periods of intensive concentration within a narrow framework of special problems alternating with periods of exploration and experimentation. It is not only wise, but essential, for the beginner to travel a similar path, concentrating on areas of particular interest as long as they remain challenging but, when success comes too easily, moving on to something else."

Mendelowitz's Guide to Drawing, p. 16

In the interests of exploring and experimenting with pen, I decided to try a color sketch in ink. I found a pack of Pilot Precise V5 pens on sale. It had black, green, red, blue and purple. If I were to continue in this medium I'd have to upgrade to artist quality inks and a few more colors, but as an exercise this was great fun. Actually, I think the limited palette really worked in my favor - I had to focus on values, because I just didn't have the right colors for the objects. It was like a fun little puzzle to solve - choosing a color based on value and interaction with nearby colors, then choosing a stroke to hint at surface texture and value, and then seeing if I was right. It's not flawless, but I really enjoyed doing it!

Thanks to Scott Liddell for the reference on morguefile.com