The apples are done!!

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Lessons learned... twice!

Last night, in basic drawing, I learned a little lesson. Now, first, forgive the low-quality image, this was taken with my cell phone. Does the drawing look a little large to you? Well, it is... and this image shows the beginnings of my corrections. In sight-size drawing, the artist draws the object on a one-to-one scale. The result is highly accurate and realistic drawing. The lighting, object, drawing and position of the artist are the same every time. You'll notice a dark vertical line down the center of the cast. This is the plumb line (dark, weight string) aids in creating accurate measuring. Looking at my drawing, the positioning of the eye, chin, mouth are pretty accurate. Take a look at the width measurements, and you'll see they're off. Left eye to right eye--good, width of left eye-good, width of nose shadow to right side of cast--good, and then take a look at the left ear to the nose shadow--bad, left edge of the hair to right eyebrow--bad. When I say bad, I mean a good half an inch bad. So, I spent the entire class correcting my drawings. My instructor, Kim Sternitzke, explained that in addition to measuring vertically and taking width measurements from the plumb line out, I also needed to be taking measurements from different points of the cast and looking at the relationships of everything, not just the width of the eye or the angle of the chin.

Here is the drawing after about two hours of corrections:
I still have a lot of correcting to do and a ways to go on this cast but I feel good about the foundation. If you'd like to learn a little more about sight-size, American Artist has a step-by-step demonstration on their site. I'll keep posting my progress and I've learned my lesson... remember relationships, measure and measure again, and if something seems a little strange in the drawing, take the time to find out why, don't hastily try to finish an inaccurate drawing.

The Practice and Science of Drawing

Today, I'm reading The Practice and Science of Drawing, by Harold Speed. The book discusses various drawing techniques, types of drawings--drawing with mass, value, line. Right now, I'm reading about line unity. The author provides many examples throughout the book and although the topics are labeled as specific types of drawing, the principles of unity, harmony, composition, etc are always discussed. I'll be honest and say there are portions of the book easier to digest than the others but I'm enjoying the book. My goal is to read as many books as I can that will enhance my atelier education. Tonight, I have basic drawing and like the idea of having Speed's principles floating through my head. I am excited to report I have my new camera (!!) and so, I'll begin posting the progress I'm making on my drawings.

This book was given to me by Melody Phaneuf, who happens to have an excellent blog post today. She discusses her painting, Harbor Sunset, which is one of my favorites. Looking at the warm sunset, I can imagine myself in the harbor, I smell the salty water, I feel the breeze. This was the perfect painting for her analogy of a painting to a great feast.

Richard Lack: An American Master

Check out what I picked up from the atelier this week. The book, Richard Lack: An American Master, is usually $65 and it's not terribly common but can be purchased through the school store. The school had a box of books that had some water damage and I was able to get a copy for $15! That's right, $15! The water damage is negligible. I picked a book from the center of the stack and it has very minor warping. I can't wait to sit down with it and a cup of coffee this weekend.