Activity

Happiest with the bulb…your lesson on roots was really good Wendy!

Hi Rita- this is a nice drawing with a lot of positive qualities. You have really captured the color and paper like quality of this red onion. The thing that really throws me is it’s shape. I know onions come in many different shapes and there can be a lot of beauty found in the odd and unusual, but there is something about the shape of this one (…[Read more]

Hi Ginny- good start on this cylinder toning exercise. Your darks are nice and rich! Be aware that the dark toning on the left side should not be as dark as the shadowed side. You want to work left from the highlight to a tone 4 or 5. I would suggest a couple of other things to work on. I see distinct vertical lines separating the tones. Work on…[Read more]

Hi Ginny! It is fun to see your watercolor testing bars. The tomato is nicely rendered. I would give it more dark and mid-range toning to enhance it’s round form. You could also saturate the color more overall. Looking forward to seeing more of your work!

Great job on the bulb Ishbel! The roots are amazing! I think you could use some dark and mid-tone shading on the bulb to enhance it’s form.

Thanks Doug – I darkened it a bit in the later post with the flowers but maybe I could do a bit more!

Am I finished?? Suggestions pls. Should the leaf behind the two flowers be darker? Was afraid it would be the same value as the flowers so did not darken it.

Hi Carol. I think this is a well-balanced compostition, but I do think that finding a way to darken that back leaf would add more depth overall. I understand your concern about having the value be too close to the flowers – I am sure that Wendy, Vern, and Doug will have good suggestions about how to do this.

Hi Carol- this is a beautiful drawing! I agree with your and Amy’s opinion that the back leaf should be darker. Considering it’s position behind the two flowers the leaf would definitely be partially in shadow. I would not darken the entire leaf, but add the shadow that would be cast by the flower on the left. I think something that would also hel…[Read more]

THANKYOU both so much for the input!! A second and third pair of eyes see things that one just doesn’t see after staring at a drawing for hours! And thanks Doug for those excellent sketches, it’s a perfect method of ‘explaining’ what doesn’t get through verbally. ( I guess most of us on this feed are visual learners😁) I shall get to work on this.…[Read more]

Finding it difficult to photograph accurately. Will try scanning in the future.

Great job Dora! You have really captured the colors and how the petals curve out from the center. It is a really interesting composition, which I think is one of your strong suits! I would recommend putting a bit more shading on the stem (of the facing flower) directly under the petal as you did on the two buds. Really nice work!

Thank you Doug. I’m really enjoying the course and going through the basics at the moment. Practicing tone bars etc. I’m not sure I can ever go back to just watercolour again though!

beautiful work! lovely lines…..

Hopefully I was successful in implementing your suggestions Doug.

Looks great Dora! I couldn’t leave a comment on your new post. That stem just needed a shadow from the flower petals. Beautiful!

Thanks Doug. Didn’t mean to bombard you with this drawing but wanted to finish it as well as I could before gifting it. I really am very appreciative for all your advice.