I really struggle with reproducing what I see on paper.  It's been a while since I worked on this, so I'm also very rusty.  Trying to shift how I see what I am trying to sketch.

Hello,

I drew an apple, cherries and banana. I'm getting really excited using this shading style.  I used a paper blending stick to smooth out the lines and to provide a more even transition of shading across highlight to core shadow to reflected light. Including the cast shadow really helps add dimension but I can see I need further practice to make it look as though the object is resting on a flat surface.  Also, I feel the banana has good reflected light.

I am getting a little bit more comfortable with my drawing skills.  I need to practice shading for shadows. Today I sketched a holly hock leaf an used marks to make texture on the leaf. I also practiced shading for shadows.  As I am in the process I am much more observant of how the light and  darkness on every day things I see - trees, plants, rocks. 

This is challenging for sure.  I love rocks and have many in my garden - my first attempt. Below is a daylily which turned out easier.

I feel comfortable with shadowing a specific geometrical shape, I will probably need to practice for a while on more complicated shapes like birds and plants. 

This morning I practiced several techniques to represent a pumice pebble from my windowsill collection. I was skeptical about the scribbling technique before I tried it, but wow! Scribbling loosened up my hand and mind, producing my favorite result. I did these sketches before the chiaroscuro lesson.

I’m learning to let go a bit, and not be so gripped around naturalist/scientist accuracy! I’m also realizing that, while my eye is drawn to elaborate subjects, the techniques I’m learning in this class are more easily practiced on more modest subjects at first. 

Applying light and dark! Fun to try this and learn every time I do this ! 

Great lesson - Light and Dark . Making things 3 dimensional. Reflective light was something new.

It is very helpful to learn about the concept of chiaroscuro, including the squint test. I found it difficult to apply this to my cucumber, as it has a very diverse structure and therefore light and shadow are presented in many different ways. So I applied the shading based less on the concept and more on what I saw.

It's been so interesting to get the background understanding of different drawing techniques. I love the different mark making techniques and would like to try to use them all. I have mostly gone for cross-hatch, but also tried some contour hatching for the ball exercise and tried some stippling on a rock I tried to draw. I can see how the different tasks will fit in to drawing in nature but I'm not sure that I will be able to do any of it at speed!

Just as an aside, I also cannot see the pictures that people post for some reason. If anyone has an easy fix I'd appreciate your advice.

I'm going to try more of the light and shade with different light. I tried out a few of the different marking techniques here, but I haven't tried stippling yet.

At first, I drew the shadow below following the curves of the onion, but couldn't discern the difference between my onion and its shadow! Then I realized that I had to draw the lines of the shadow in clear contrast

to the curves of the onion!

my chiaroscuro ball.😅

After practicing chiaroscuro and making different strokes, I was able to pick out some of the light and dark areas as well as textures. All these tips and practices from sketching things around the house have helped make me a better sketcher and observer. I feel very happy once I've set down my first mark on a blank sheet, and after that, the rest comes easily! I still need to practice my chiaroscuro, but that will all come in time! Thanks for the wonderful lessons, Liz!

It is fun to apply these lessons and see the beginnings of some developing skill.    When trying the chiaroscuro practice I stumbled on a challenge when I switched from a single light source from my lamp to my overhead light which is compromised of a chandelier with surrounding can lights.  It took some time to attempt to sort out highlights and shadows from multiple light sources.

I'll need more practice on this one, but I enjoyed it.

I found it challenging to incorporate the chiaroscuro with the actual light and dark markings on the fruits! Maybe next time I would focus on chiaroscuro first, then go in to add the details. I'm also finding that no matter what marking style I set out to use, I tend to gravitate toward scribbling and free form marks in the end. That said, it's been helpful to know the different effects each style supports (e.g. stippling for softness), and it's been fun experimenting with the different styles, even within a single drawing.



 

This activity was a real challenge for me and took several tries. I'll continue to practice how to transition from one value to the next. When I got stuck, it helped me to take a photo of the tomato I was drawing and look at it in black in white to see the distinctions in value more clearly.