I really liked this experience. I did OK, better on some than others. I noticed that those in the group who tried smaller pictures seemed to do better, so maybe I will try that next time. Focusing on what I did right was a great experience that I need to apply to all my endeavors! I was pleased that I usually managed to get the overall relative size and shape correct, if not the parts and their connections, and I was super happy when I ended up just about right where I started a couple of times. I figured out that if I mentally pictured the drawing materializing on my page before I started, I had a better outcome (like athletes picturing making the goal). I had the idea after doing the exercises to do the contours of some trees, because I'm interested in the variety of shapes of trees. I should have chosen a vantage point where I could see the whole trees in outline at a distance, but instead I went to a nearby nature center where the sit-spots were close to the trees.  No matter, I gave it a whirl, and while it was very challenging, I felt like I sharpened my perception of depth as well as subtle details about the trees, so yes, in that sense, the exercise helped me focus on my subject more. When my drawing went off the page, I just continued to imagine I was drawing until my pencil returned to the page!  I actually ended up thinking the rather abstract overlapping drawings were pretty--suggestions of trees. Thinking about how I might want to add color. Contour drawing in general has made me be mindful of  loosening my grip--relinquishing some [illusion of] control in exchange for better flow. Who knows, a looser grip might improve my drawing overall!

Wow - this was really difficult! I could not bring my starting and ending points back together, ran off the page at one point and my bird of paradise looks rather like a swamp plant.  Very interesting to note that my brain and hand do not communicate at all!  

Well I found it nearly impossible not to look at the drawing, some practice needed.

I enjoyed this exercise.  I think the hardest part for me was to keep my eye on the part that I was drawing at a specific moment and not look ahead too soon at the next part of the contour.  It kept me from staying focused on where I felt my pencil should actually be. Lots of fun!

I experimented with starting at different places on the image.

Well that was fun!  I found if I stopped to rethink about my line direction I lost context even though I did not lift my pencil off.  It would seem the trick is to stay focussed throughout.  I like my Springbok the best. I am happy with the front leg, neck, head, ear, antlers and back line through to the tail and back leg including hoof really well.  That's when I stopped to think about what I was doing and without lifting my pencil off, went off course somewhat!  You can see the 2 dark spots where I was resting my pencil. My own choice drawing was a bonsai in a pot which is very leafy and has no trunk line to view.  It looks awful but I am happy with the authenticity of the stick on the right, the leaves on the left and the shape of the bottom of the pot LOL!

I struggled with knowing where I was on the page. Definitely need to practice this strategy!

My drawings turned out pretty odd, except for the newt which wasn't too bad, and I had a hard time not looking down at my paper. I liked the fact that this made me notice details like the different in the number of toes on the newt's front hand (?) versus the rear.

It was SO hard restraining my impulse to look!!! The newt turned out better than I expected, I made the sunbird wider than it should have been, but the bird-of-paradise flower turned out okay, except for the stem which is narrower than it should be. The springbok however was a complete failure. I really enjoyed this lesson because it made me laugh and because it showed me how my eyes and my hand are not used to working together at this level! 

I was actually very pleased with how the drawings turned out. I thought it would be just a bunch of lines on a page. A fun exercise in concentration. Interesting to see how the drawings turned out when starting from different places on the page; left or right, bottom or top. The newt I started at bottom left, the sunbird at the bottom, the flower at the right and the springbok at the lower neck or left. Sorry having trouble uploading all four pictures    

I found this experience just a little frustrating but mostly amusing. It served its purpose, really helping me focus on the subject. I found the bird of Paradise to be the easiest probably because of its straight lines. I think that the more I focused on the details the further my line ended up from being enclosed.

Not peeking at my drawing was the hardest thing to do but I stayed focused on the lines and was surprised that my eyes and hand coordinated so well. This seems like a good practice to do to concentrate on the focus to really see the lines.

I can only manage half an image before my drawings collapse in on themselves. The Bird-of-Paradise at least has some 3-dimensional form.

I had my laughs during this exercise! Poor little Green-tailed Sunbird looks like a frog. I did a better job with the Bird-of-Paradise and Sprinkbok. Trying to imagine where the paper edges were was easier when I folded my paper into fourths.

I didn't do the Newt a favor, but I believe I did better on the Sunbird. I definitely think that this exercise helped me stay focused on the subject because it has you focus on details that you probably otherwise would've overlooked.

I've always loved contour drawing. It definitely helps you stay focused and is always fun, easy, and quick. For me, it helps just be with the process and disconnect from any result. 

It wasn´t easy because in many years of drawing, I never considered to do it with this method, and yes, it´s true, helps you focus exclusively on the subject, concentrate and appreciate the details slowly, but feels, or my personal perception, was a difficult connection between eye and hand at the same time, but I will put it into practice, its a very interesting, healthy and surprising experience, especially when you see the result.

yes- as funny as they look - it did help me stay focused on the subject!

This was a huge challenge! I found two tricks that helped: 1) I noticed when Liz was drawing she kept the fingers of her left hand on the notebook near the spine. I put my thumb and first two fingers down on the edge of each page before starting, and used them to "feel" where the top, bottom and a central part of the drawing should be. For instance, the top, bottom and end of the nose of the springbok. 2) I closed one of my eyes, and that helped me immensely with staying focused on the contour and not getting lost looking around at different places on the object. Not particularly proud of any of these drawings but I will keep practicing.

You’re right, funny! My newt at least had 3 legs, but my songbird looked like a dinosaur and my flower - we’ll sort of,  but my Springbok at least had spring!  my springbok has spring, and 4 legs!

The urge to criticize wasn’t as strong bc of how kind the professor was to herself. I found myself having fun with how weird it looked and joyful about some good spots in the drawings. An exercise in managing the urge to look as well having self compassion!

These exercises are some of the best of my first year of really exploring nature in all its glory!  I laughed at some of my drawings, and was amazed by a couple that really came out recognizable.  I'm looking forward to doing this just out in nature and even in my  backyard.

I definitely had to stay focused on the subject. I made an effort to find something I liked in each drawing. The plants I tried were too complex to have anything resembling the images on my page. I found it challenging to have proportions once i was working on the "second half" of an image; I would over shoot or overlap. Not sure what is going on there, I don't seem to be able to hold the place in space of the parts of the image. example, the two sides of the Springbok's legs.