It took me a while to finish my after drawing, and I know I have a long way to go. However, I do see improvement. I need to work on holding a brush and getting finer lines. My hand shakes, so it is tricky.  I also need to work on color blending and learning how to create more 3-d shapes. Even though I worked on being patient, I need to work on that more. The first photo is my very first drawing before I got my materials, and it is my final drawing. The second one I posted was right after I got my materials and watched the first drawing video.

I learned quickly that I was trying to capture too much detail in my initials sketches. Spending more time on a focus object and building the detail in the image is something I am focusing on now— additional details can always be added as bullet points or written notes next to the image.   Color blocking and layering is also very helpful in order to understand how to make the image appear more realistic and I’m still learning how to see all the different nuances of color and shade in nature!

  I like both of my sketches, but like the attention to values on my second one especially, as well as the detail on the wings. I spent more time on the second. Love this cute little yellow friend.

I like the looser quality of my original sketch, which I only spent about 5 minutes on at most. My second warbler sketch was done in colored pencil, as was my first. I like the ease of colored pencil working in the field. The third try was with watercolor. A fun project and good approach to sketching practice: loose to refined, and with various mediums. Fun!

I tried both the dry on wet and wet on wet techniques, as well as color blending on the page.  I don't know how much better the drawing is of the Warbler, but I would have never had the confidence to paint the image before this class, so I'm happy with that.  I still need to work on color mixing.  I'm still having a difficult time getting the colors that I'm looking for all the time.

When I looked at my first sketch, it was much larger than my final one. I like the smaller one better. I was able to learn about measurement and proportion, how to make different types of marks to emphasize details. The feet are most difficult for me. I will use watercolors next to finish the most recent yellow warbler.

The second one definitely came out better than the first.  :)

This was a wonderful experience! Thank you so much for all the instruction and encouragement. I really appreciated the all the tips especially looking for negative space. I definitely grew as an observer -- and your positive encouragement will stay with me. It was a pleasure viewing other people's drawings and reading their reflections --- helped me learn more tips. I loved this class and would recommend it to others!

This course has taught me so much--a million different techniques that I never would have guessed existed. I used the light techniques mostly, and all the techniques turn out impressive results. I am very grateful for this course, and will use all the techniques it has taught me in the future.

I thoroughly enjoyed "round 2" of this beautiful little warbler, now with new techniques under my belt! I feel more and more comfortable with watercolor every time (although I'm still very much a newbie), and I can feel my improvements in this one. Could still work on making it look even more realistic (softer head features, and the eye is tough!) but I'm so happy with this one and this course! It has been so enjoyable. Day 1: Now:

Throwing us "into the deep end" of Beebe  Lake (!) on the first day of class, with the exercise of drawing the bird, was a great idea! The instruction then was a little vague on whether to just draw the warbler and leave it  at that, or to actually go on and apply watercolor. My initial pencil sketch and then my end-of-course color version, based on a new sketch, are inserted below. The biggest lesson I learned between that first class and the conclusion with the warbler was that I could add a final coat of a different yellow to make the image of the bird stand out more. Note that the early sketch is on white paper but my photograph tinted it. Here are my and-of-course sketches in the final watercolor, which needs work but I am afraid of overworking it.     The bill and eye are all wrong, I did them last. As the critical part of the image next time they will be done first.   Wow! There are some wonderful images below.  

May 3, 2023. These little guys have just returned to Connecticut, but I'm pretty confident a field sketch will be nothing like what I've just done! I'm still more comfortable working at my table, but I feel really good about how I've been able to relax my techniques, and accomplish a fun painting, whether at a sit spot outside or copying from a photo indoors. The relax and keep it fun part is not trivial, and I've really appreciated Liz's constant reminders that it's supposed to be fun and to not be too hard on ourselves! In this page I tried to come back to the idea of informational boxes, since at the beginning I said I liked how that looked, how it made the page look more organized. I have to work more on finding the highlights - which parts to leave white. I found this a little difficult in the warbler and I think I laid the color on too bright, when I should have built it up layer by layer. I like the glazing technique for making shadows and I've appreciated the lesson on finding the negative spaces. When drawing the leaves below I started three times before I got the positions and spaces right! The pencil sketch was dated April 5th - it has been a very fun month of sketching!

The drawing on the left is the first session and the middle and right pictures are from the last session.  I feel certain aspects of my drawing are better; however, I need work on mixing paint and its application for details on the bird.  I feel my observation skills have improved as well.  I will continue to work on this drawing and painting adventure.  Thank you!

I think I paid more attention to detail in my later drawing.  My first was color pencil and second was watercolor with details in color & graphite pencils.

The pencil drawing is my "before" drawing.  Initially I wasn't happy with my "after" drawing, but looking at the drawings side-by-side made me see how much better the proportions and accuracy are in the "after" drawing--I'm clearly letting my brain "fill in the gaps" less.  I am still getting used to watercolor layering and color mixing.  The tiny black details on the warbler were tough, and the electric yellow was a hard color to replicate.  Things to work on!

I am pleased with the improvements from the sketch to the watercolor.  My sense of proportion is much better!  Adding color makes a world of difference. I tried stippling and utilizing negative space which were helpful.  I could be more patient in mixing colors and applying layers.  I definitely need more practice with the wash technique and chiaroscuro.  Overall, a successful journey!

I’ve been taking this class off and on for a year now! Life happens!  The lower image is my first sketch and for the recent one I tried to get more life and personality into this little bird.  I have had a lot of fun but I think I will always be more of a wander around, take pictures then draw at my desk kind of a person.  I am trying to make more notes when I’m out so I can remember more of the feel of the place.