Back to the Drawing Board

   

Left: Value study of twins from a photograph

Right: Copy from a Sargeant drawing of Mrs. Horace Webber

Here is my drawing board. Both of these were basically quick studies, done in less than 30 minutes (I think). The Sargeant portrait is from the Dover book of his drawings which are black and white studies. It makes it pretty easy to copy exactly what he did, although if you compare mine to his you will see how many places need to be fixed.  I need to work on how to do the nose and mouth, so this is really helpful.

The value study from the photograph presents a completely different set of challenges and learning. First of all, I had to find a photo that lends itself to becoming a portrait. Then I realized that I don't have much experience drawing from photos. I chose this one because the two boys are identical twins, but don't actually look exactly alike. I wanted to see if I could capture the difference. Shane is pretty close but Nathan got lost back in the shadows. Those shadows again!!

It is also interesting to put these side by side. Clearly Sargeant had an eye for composition and contrast. He knew how to accentuate the features that he wanted to describe. Striking.

Flowers in a Blue Vase

 Flowers in a Blue Vase

I had fun with this painting done in class. The challenge was to represent the bright light. The colors were all over the place. I thought I wasn't going to like the set up - I was itching to reposition the flowers into a better arrangement. But as I painted I found I liked the balance and the confusion of the huge blossoms. Sonny, the teacher, helped me to simplify the shadows on the wall behind the flowers. It reminded me of Anne's caution: "Don't stare into the shadows!'

The teacher's overall comment was to continue to paint more and practice better drawing skills. Hmmm. I thought drawing was a relative strength. I guess it is, relative to anything else I can do! 

So, I need to work on my drawing and hope it will draw the rest of my skills along with it:)