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Thank you Doug for such a quick response and also for your comments. I will work on them!

Hi Karen- I see what you mean. I think a couple of things would help. First- where the the left side of the top line meets the curved edge it does not curve up to meet the top of the curve as I would expect it to. It even looks like the top line stops just before the curve. All though subtle, it would help a lot to have the top edge curve up to…[Read more]

Hi Helene- Wow! You definitely picked the right subject to practice pillowing on leaves! I agree with you that the leaf on the left is very successful.!!! The reason being is that the highlights in particular are so well done! Those pillows are wonderful!!! Judging from the highlight and shadow placement I would say the light source is from the…[Read more]

Correction. The light source came from the right.

I wanted to practice ‘pillows’ on leaves and swiss chard certainly offers a lot to work on. I am happy with the left leaf and would like to improve the other two. Are the highlight too prominent and need to be toned down? Note that the light came from the left.

A little older than when I first drew it a few days ago. Tried to capture the lightness and soft curl of the top part of the flower as it “flows” back into the centre, which we can’t see.

I will try to post a photo of the flower

Thank you Doug! My question is how to make the top of the folded over part of the flower look more natural, and not like a crisp fold. It actually has a soft, gradual curl at the top. Hard to describe in words and in the drawing!

So much better Karen! Wonderful job!!! This has beautiful form!!! Instead of dark sepia, you can use a very dark green like chrome oxide green, deep cobalt green or even indigo blue. I think maybe the highlight on the side would be a little more elongated. Sorry! I am not understanding your second question.

Dark sepia too muddy? And how to get the top line to curl back into the flower?

Great job on the seed head revision Elinor! Also taking into consideration how light would effect the highlights and shadows on your subject. Be careful not to outline. It is especially noticeable on the petals that are lighter due to the proximity to the light source.

Nice job Elinor! The colors are great! I see highlights and a range of tones on the golden petals, but they are not apparent to me on the green leaves. I would expect to see shadows on the bottom leaf where a leaf crosses over it and probably where the leaves bend and meet the stem, etc.. Don’t forget highlights too! Even though stems are n…[Read more]

Hi Karen- beautiful colors! At the top where we see a glimpse of the front of the flower folding over and casting a shadow I can start to see some form, but I am missing highlights and a range of tones on the rest of the flower and stem. It is so easy to get excited about and get caught up in the colors and details and we get away from…[Read more]

Hi Cathie- great strong, rich colors! I am having a hard time figuring which direction your light is coming from. The highlights seemed to be centered on each petal and the stem and leaf don’t have a fully formed highlight or range of tones. It is important to establish that base so that the illustration of the subject is as realistic as p…[Read more]

this was taken with a camera.