Showing definite improvement with proportion and shading. I will try another with paint. I didn’t want to mess up drawing with paint🙂.

! I have always been terribly self-critical and sensitive to criticism from others. That's why I stopped drawing and painting 30 years ago. Liz is such an encouraging teacher that I have found the courage and joy to draw and paint again. Of course there is room for improvement, but I find many details that I am very happy with. Practicing different techniques has been useful and I think it is quite easy to find the right ones for every situation. The Yellow Warbler turned out better than I expected!

I used mostly dry brush on the second yellow warbler.  I was happy with the drawing and just used watercolor on the warbler and pencil for the rest of the drawing.  I felt I handled the watercolor a little better, because I did not try to overwork and get it sloppy looking.  I need a lot more practice before I really feel comfortable with this medium.

I was SHOCKED at how much I have improved! This course has been so fun and informative! I still have much room for growth and I’m excited to continue on this path!

I feel good about the shape but wish I had removed more pencil so the watercolor isn't so muddy. I like the orange marks on the breast but could have benefited from more dry time with the black accents. The second drawing has more character and dimensionality that the first drawing which I suspect is from experimenting with tint and shadow. Work in progress.

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Just using watercolor is a new technique for me.  I think that I am getting better at using a wash for a background and therefore giving my painting more color. I also think that I made better use of highlights and shadows. I am starting to learn ways to get the details better.  It has been a true learning curve for me.    

The top is the final yellow warbler drawing. I reversed the image because I'm left-handed. I thought the head looked more accurate. Adding color and getting the fine lines was not easy. I couldn't get the deep brilliant yellow mixed the way I wanted. I tend to use too much water; thus, the black feathers ran into the yellow. Deep greens were also a problem—next time, on to more practice.

I'm really happy with how far I've come. I appreciated being able to learn how to deal with scale and proportions, and made sure to implement those techniques in the new drawing. I also was able to improve my shading, as well as the fine details of my painting. Learning how to properly use watercolors was also valuable, and really helped my drawing reach that next level. I still want to work on some of the fine detail techniques with watercolor, and figure out how to make the shading and colors more accurate, but otherwise I'm happy with how far I've come

The first time, back in April(left),I was very apprehensive as it was my first time doing any drawing or painting since 2004. My second time around done today was done by a waaaaay more confident me. I have found my style that works for my nature journal and one that I can do quickly as I am outdoors. Adding dimension is something I use now and just the reassuring way the facilitator taught empowered me to be boldly develop a style that suits me.  Thanks much!

The first one was the very first sketch of a yellow warbler, and the second was the one where we reflected on what we learned. 

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.