Janiece

1. I felt rusty in my skills in communicating what I see to my hand. I thought about how to hold my hand, where to begin making a line, whether my stroke should move forward or backward. The bird’s beak was a challenge, as was where to begin my drawing on the page. I realized quickly that my drawing was too far to the left on the page, and because of this, I didn’t have room to fully explore its tail or place it in context with the setting behind it. My first instinct was to judge my process, but I quickly moved past that when I realized how that mindset was keeping me from enjoying what I was doing. When I relaxed and enjoyed the act of sketching, the more playful attitude allowed me to appreciate certain details. I also began to think of what it will be like to sketch the Yellow warbler in nature, and I will want to include information about where it is perched (what type of tree, shrub, plant) and what activity it seems to be involved in. 2. There were many details I noticed through drawing from the photo that I would have otherwise overlooked: a slight shadow along the bird’s brow, the curvature of the tip of its beak, the downy feathers on the underside of its belly, the gray feathers along its back and shoulders and the rusty streaks on its underside.