From the drawing class...

I went back into my sketchbook from our Friday drawing class and pulled out some still life sketches from the class so I could scan and paint some of them. Since the shadows were already drawn in with the pen this was actually very easy and quick to paint.  I have scanned a few more so maybe I will blog some of the painted ones along the way. These are fun---the sketching is what is hard---at least for me it is. But drawing is an exercise that strengthens your art muscles and therefore---necessary.

Friday Drawing class

Actually this is an addition to this post---I painted it again (I had the line drawing scanned and saved) and I think I like this background better. The image below has a bit of a muddied background. These things happen to me sometimes. I was thinking I would have a goldish background then decided it would be better blue so I changed in mid-wash---this idea is just fine if the colors don't muddy. 


We had fun in our drawing class yesterday with Stephanie, our drawing teacher.  She urges us to push through it and  draw it and usually it will pay off if you just hang in there and persevere.  I drew this first from a still life, inked it in then added watercolor. I love watercolor and this one was fun--after I got the drawing done!  Fun exercise.  Books aren't the easiest thing to draw---angles---yikes---angles!! Everyone in the class is getting pretty good at drawing now and we started a year ago whining and moaning  that we couldn't draw.

YA GOTTA DRAW!!!

This is from our drawing class. Today I did the one with the sheep (that was a challenge!) and I did the plant and the book last time.

This is what I think about drawing, and for me, it has made all the difference in my art progress: drawing is essential if you want to be a better painter! Not that I am that good at it or anything but if you want to have more successful paintings, do mixed media or even draw the darling little curtains in the Christmas village, you need to have at least some drawing experience. We, in our drawing class, call it-"standing in the fire" because when you are drawing something that is feeling especially difficult there is a strong tendency to not push through and quit because the drawing is too hard--- but you must stick with it and see it through. It's the "staying in the fire that moves you forward." And when you have done that you just might be pleased with what you have drawn---and you don't even smell like smoke!! (Can anyone tell me what THAT great story comes from???)

Anyway, that just my advice for the day for what it's worth.

I hope you all will try to make a Christmas Village with Claudine Hellmuth. I found the tea lights at Walgreens and I just can't tell you how cute it is with the tea lights flickering!! I have all her paints and supplies and they are great.

BACK TO BASICS--Drawing class today at my studio

It's good for me to always get back to basics and just draw. It has been the thing that has given me to confidence to draw other things---like my portraits. Stephanie is such a good teacher and we have a good time at my studio all sitting around quietly drawing our still life and listening to our quiet music. It is relaxing--although putting that first mark on a clean white sheet of paper still brings some trepidation. But as I have read in different articles, most artists have a hard time staring down the blank white sheet of paper. It's amazing how most of the time the muse kicks in and it starts to flow.  This drawing is called "Tea Time."

HOMEWORK FOR "ALL ABOUT FACES" CLASS

I have completed lesson one of Paulette Insall's online faces class. I needed to do some homework because the class members post their work on Flickr. Here are my two faces so far. I love drawing faces. It's really amazing how no two faces turn out alike although I am using the same formula. It's fun.

"THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR..."

These boots were made for walking.... in puddles---not necessarily for sketching! It was very hard to draw and since they were black I thought I needed to fill it in  but then you lose the shadows. The little table was hard too. It's kinda deceiving when you start to draw something. Even though it looks so simple, it's really not but I am new at drawing so everything is a learning experience and this blog will keep a record of my improvements.

The first drawing is just a pencil with no ink and it was actually the second one I drew .  Maybe a bit better--the shapes are more defined.