Vicki

Having never taken a drawing course, I've never actually learned any of the techniques in the "Making Your Mark" lesson set.  I found, however, that I remembered hearing many of my watercolor mentors talk about stippling, hatching, blending, and the like, when referring to the consideration 0f value as a means of infusing light into a painting.  I'm now feeling a little more comfortable with using value observations and techniques to help make a shape seem to be 3-dimensional.  I started with "Drawing Basics" on February 23rd, after posting my Yellow Warbler entry, did a bit more on the 26th, then didn't return to finish the lesson set until May 20th.  Now it's already June 2nd and I'm only just posting this entry.  I tried to apply the techniques of hatching and stippling recently, when I was drawing some rocks.  It takes SSSsssooo... long to draw a rock as a sketch the size of a postage stamp on paper.  I really do KNOW that practice makes perfect, and that I should practice every day.  In real life, though, it's not possible - especially not in the current state of world affairs, when I find myself practicing child care all over again with my grandson, while his parents are telecommuting because of the COVID 19 pandemic.

I love this!!!  Especially the way the warbler's tail crosses to the other page :-)  I, too, am trying to "play" with my art.  Not so easy, especially as I'm really fixated on detail.

As I was painting the Yellow Warbler from the course photo, the trees/branches/leaves were easier for me, as is typical, while the bird was a challenge.  Although I've painted for years, I'm mostly self-taught, and have never taken a drawing course.  Without a photo, I might not have noticed the little clump of nesting material or fungus in the twig notch under the bird's perch.  I like including such little details, so I prefer having photos to help me along.  In my journal, I wrote that the day is sunny, about 10ºF, breezy, and the snow is diamond-studded.  It's 02/22/2020 at 10:30AM.  As I sit at the dining table, I see larger birds at the feeders outside, but smaller birds didn't emerge until at least an hour later.