My New Drawing Class

Drawing II is going to be amazing!! Very different from Drawing I, which I also loved, but that is good. I like to learn new things and I like to be challenged in different ways and this class is going to do it! 

My professor is John Rise (click here if you are interested in seeing his website). Daniel and I actually became friends with him and his wife when we all still lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Never in a million years did I think I'd be taking a drawing class from him in Savannah!

The drawings you see on these Strathmore paper pads (and there are more) are all from his student from the same class I am taking. And this kind of quality is not the exception - impressive!!

We are going to be working on five projects: subtractive charcoal, additive charcoal, graphite, and two watercolor drawings. And we'll be working from the same huge still life John has constructed in the classroom. Some of you (I'm thinking of Anne and Elena particularly) would love it - it has all kinds of old, rusted, frayed things like lots of rope, old bicycle wheels, stools, old wooden trunks, window panes, fabric, wooden ladders, and much, much more!

For this first project, we had to do quite a few thumbnail sketches, decide on one, and then prep our paper with and soft pastel in an earth tone (I chose burnt sienna) and powdered charcoal to create a mid-tone value. To that we'll add the darker values and lift out the highlights.

I have a feeling that I'm going to be spending many hours in this classroom and I am looking forward to it all!!