I was ready to jump to the next lesson, but have made a conscious decision to stay with this lesson for a while. There is so much to practice and there is plenty of time with covid, so I am trying to take my time and hone some skills. A few photos of my journal. The camera does strange things w the lead drawings.

Learning to observe shadows and light is quite the skill! I definitely see how it helps bringing three dimension to the images. It is hard to combine the dark and light colors at the same time. I am enjoying practicing and learning in the process.

A Pink Lady apple. The whitest white is not really popping.

The thing I find challenging is dealing with smudges. And keeping the whitest area white. This drawing used an internet photo for reference.

Mark making techniques help provide depth to this plant.  I was struggling with that.  I’ve been returning to this plant to record growth as I am working through this course.  Both the continued practice and learning the skills have made a positive impact and I feel like I am improving.  It helps that the amaryllis is quick growing so I see change easily.  I like incorporating notes along with my drawings which I haven’t done in the past.   The notes make recalling details easy and I am becoming more observant when I can note down what I see and feel.

Always struggled with shading, learning alot so far. Especially about looking for tonal variations.

The chiarosuro is a new concept for me. Especially the reflected light.

I tried to capture the apple twice, once with light coming from the left and once from the right and above. The cast shadow on both are too dark, I think, so that' s something to work on. The highlight on the left one doesn't need to be outlined--I just need to keep it blank. These are definitely my best apples ever!

It has been quite educational and relaxing some of the techniques instructed, moving from stick people to be able to put something in paper is an accomplishment ; improving observational skill also very nice, Thanks.

Struggling with the shape of the shadow for the orange. Also, not sure if I used the dotting affect in the picture, should I then use it in the shadow as well?

Funny, I have been sketching for years but was oblivious to the reflective light. This is quite an eye opener for me. Enjoying the learning process.

wow 2nd version is better! I think recognizing what I was unhappy with in the first drawing was what led me to be able to make the 2nd one better.

frustration!  It didn't look right. Oddly enough when I took the pic, the more contrasty pic looked better to me.  I used contour shading and it didn't give the look I was going for.  I remember somewhere in distant past that the SHAPE of the deep shadow is the same curve as the object -- is that true? I will try it again with same lemon and different contrast. I really liked one of the pics below where stippling was used - will try to add some of that. My blending perhaps made the pic too "muddy" with insufficient different between shaded areas.

I found myself quite frustrated after my first trial drawing garlic with cross hatching. I tried again with contour hatching, and although the second trial did turn out better, I gained a lot more understanding with how light and shadows fall on each clove. I LOVED using garlic for this exercise. It was a very fruitful experience (pun regretfully intended). I do feel much more confident in marking. I look forward to studying different subjects, and getting a better understanding of how light falls on different objects. I'd also like to eventually work on some other marking techniques like cross hatching.

Not sure where to put the shadow but I am pleased with what I have learned. My sphere looks like, well a sphere!

I definitely want to continue practicing capturing light/dark and dimension.  I have an easier time with this when I am drawing one object, as opposed to trying to represent a landscape outside.  Practice will help!