Activity

The actual leaf already faded a bit. This time I used a sepia color. Brand new from the shop 😉

Hi Liesbeth- this is a beautiful drawing. Be aware that your light source is not positioned correctly. I can see in the photograph that the light is coming from behind the leaf instead of coming over your left shoulder at a 45 degree angle, which is the universal standard for botanical artwork. When you correct the light source you will see that…[Read more]

thank you. Yes, indeed, this was a strawberry leaf. I think it’s to early for berries 🙂 I was sitting outside in the sun, so indeed, the light source shifted a bit during the day. I find it difficult to keep the balance between rich color, light shading and keeping it fresh. I’ll keep on practising. Thank you for the feedback!

Yikes, stem problems! Erasing so much, I’ve eaten into the paper. Any way to save the stem?

Hi Sheila- I couldn’t see anything until I really enlarged the image. It looks like it is to the left of the stem above the fruit. It is tricky because the plum is positioned so high on the page. I thought of putting a leaf behind the fruit if you can get a leaf to work from at some point. It can be easier to camouflage a mishap on a leaf. Or if y…[Read more]

Thanks Vern and Doug, really helpful feedback. Definitely taking out the extra highlight, there are windows all around me. Branches and leaves, probably not available this year… but we’ve got yellow plums, too.

Still working on this. The beans are really a pale green but, chunky!

Hi Sheila- the pod section on the right looks great! It holds its own with all the other parts now. Beautiful!

Doug, I’ve darkened the full bean and the two pod sections. Maybe more toning on the bean in the far right pod? Hope you’re all well!

Sheila you always pick the most common subjects and exalt them to a high place! This is absolutely wonderful ! I just love the creative composition! So well done!

Wow Rita!!! This is beautiful! I love how you have positioned the leaf on the page! The drawing has so much going for it! I am impressed with the crisp edges and you did a great job with the highlights and toning! Nice attention to the details! There are a couple of light spots along the dark side of the main vein that I would darken. I hope you…[Read more]

Thank you for the feedback- I am happy with it, after my difficulty with the flowers I decide d to pull back and work on some branches and leaves and try and work on transitions with the toning – I also had a better time combining the watercolor on the branches and leaves than on the flowers and I don’t know why- maybe because the petals are such…[Read more]

I have added some more shading as suggested. I think I am beginning to really understand the concept of shading. I find I probably concentrate too hard on getting the colours right and don’t complete the necessary shading to show the form of the flower. Just need to keep practising!!!

Hi Pam- this does look better and I am glad it spurred some reflection on your drawing process. One of the reasons I like putting the grisailles layer on early is that it gives you a map to follow thru the course of the drawing. Right from the start, before I have added any color, I have established where the highlights and toning should be and…[Read more]

Thanks Doug, stay safe.