Drawing Class

white chalk and charcoal on Strathmore Charcoal Paper, SOLD

On Fridays I take a drawing class taught by Robert Liberace at the Art League here in Alexandria. Last week was the third class and I completed this drawing. I spent more time on this drawing then ever before. How did I do this? I am not really sure, as I typically get to a point and want to start over...

When I was about to start a new drawing Robert came by and suggested I work some more on it. He gave me some direction on what to look for and I started to apply what he had said, and gained some valuable knowledge for future drawings.

What I learned from this drawing:

} after the big value shapes are placed, check for any areas that need corrections

} correct it right away

} do not let the light values become to light, if all light areas are the same value as the highlights the figure looks flat (this goes for the shadow areas also)

} continue to squint and compare the figure to your drawing

} when you think you are done, turn the drawing upside down and see if anything looks strange, if so turn it right side up and correct it.

Typically I get bored and start a new drawing (this is my way of dealing with not knowing what to do next), but with this drawing when I figured out that I had all my lights one value and no where to go, so to speak, I knocked the light areas down and then I had so much more room to work with. It was a liberating experience.

So my new mantra with drawing will be: There is always room to work, I just need to decide where to give my drawing space to move around in regard to value. Then there will be plenty of opportunities to explore drawing variations and results.