Second Try

It took me two tries, but i finally have a pastel sketch to post. The first one was on paper that i coated with golden pastel ground. the resulting textured background didn't do well with the floral subject. i also didn't crop it as closely, resulting in the lily pad and the water overpowering the image. and i plain didn't do the flower as well.

So here's my second try. Pastel on 9 x 12 art spectrum paper. still not a great example of what pastels can do, but better than my first try.

Remember my unsatisfactory palm tree? Well, i got some comments from wetcanvas that enabled me to offer this improved version.

Fruit

This weeks reference for the wetcanvas drawing and sketching thread was a bowl of cherries. Its a nice subject, i would love to attempt to paint it in pastels or oils later. Instead i drew, in graphite instead of my usual charcoal.

I also did a small still life- one apple- in oils. Painted from life using a plastic apple. I could have been more imaginative on my background though.

Unsatisfactory

Unsatisfactory. That's the only word for this pastel sketch. And its the tree that throws it off. The tree look like a little kid drew it. I went back in a couple of times trying to improve it but nothing worked.

The image is of the Castillo de San Marcos in St Augustine, Florida. The reference photo was taken in the late afternoon.

Already Wednesday

Its already Wednesday and i've only one drawing to show for the week. Here it is, a 14 x 17 charcoal for the WC drawing and sketching challenge.

Finally another EDM drawing

Took me a while to look at the list again, drew this on Saturday. No extra credit since no journaling involved. The most interesting thing i could say is that i can't leave it on the sofa since the dog can and has stepped on it and changed channels.

Simplified

The original photo for this wetcanvas drawing challenge had basil and garlic along with the tomatoes and quite a complicated reflection in the colander. I cropped out the garlic and simplified the reflection, but the basil looked like an unidentifiable blob, so i erased it. This is the result, in my usual charcoal.

Autumn Leaves

The weekly pastel sketch challenge didn't have a theme as of this morning, so i made my own. I took two leaves fallen in my front yard and drew from life. In keeping with the challenge, i kept the time under 60 minutes, so more can be done at a later time to finish the painting.

While I'm Away

The weekly sketch thread on wet canvas used a reference photo of a dog, a bassett hound. I was away from home most of the week, so this sketch is in pencil on my sketchpad (approx 5 x 7) instead of in charcoal. You can clearly see that it is a dog, but that it is a bassett hound isn't as clear, and the mournful expression isn't there. Not the best looking sketch, but the best i've done so far in drawing a dog. Didn't get around to posting it on wetcanvas.

Bottle, glass, and apple

I did this sketch (charcoal, 14 x 17) for the weekly sketch challenge on wetcanvas. While i was working, i thought that the glass was a little misshapen but that the bottle was fine. It was only after spraying the drawing and going away for a few hours that i was able to notice how misshapen the glass was and that the bottle was way too wide.

I did step away from the drawing while i was working to view it from across the room, but i didn't notice those problems then. I should have tried looking in a mirror while i was still working. I need to learn to pay closer attention to proportions while i'm working, and to not spray the result with fixative until i've left it for a few hours.