My Art Challenge In Progress – Update 26/03/19

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My art challenge was to copy a photograph of a tulip and background foliage and use soft pastels.  I started art classes in February so am a real novice.

Below is the photograph to be copied. IMG_20190321_123521 (2)

To start with I did a sketch.  I did several sketches and trial drawings

IMG_20190321_085208 (2)

Last Friday I drew the small tulips as a mark of respect for New Zealand, I was happy with them.  I drew at tulip for practise – I think that was ok.

IMG_20190321_123351 (2)

Yesterday I had another go at the challenge and couldn’t seem to get the shapes and blending right for the leaves etc.

IMG_20190321_123423 (2)

This morning I had another go. The tutor did say that the colours don’t have to exactly match and also not to worry about several white blotches.  I really like today’s effort but still can’t get it right.

IMG_20190321_122053 (3)_LI

I am open to constructive criticism  and any hints from the artist who read my blogs.  I am a Virgo and always aim for perfection. Am I being too hard on myself ?.  I value your comments please  and will not be offended.

Have a great day

Cheers Ally xx 🙂

PS: Thanks to everyone for your compliments, encouragement and helpful hints on  improving my challenge…..I am grateful. I have made some changes to the last drawing and now  have decided to leave it at that.   I will take it to the class next week.   Cheers everyone xo

Update:  I attending art class today.  The tutor gave me a pleasing critique of my work, it could do with a couple of minor improvements.  I am so happy  🙂  🙂  🙂

The class stops now until April 23rd for Easter and School Holidays. After the holiday’s we start on Watercolours.

Homework for during the next 4 weeks is to create a picture with any type of medium on A3 , it needs to take up the whole page.

I might decide to paint Autumn in Australia   or  the rainbow lorikeet that visited my backyard.

 

 

 

 

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48 thoughts on “My Art Challenge In Progress – Update 26/03/19”

  2. I have only used pastels once and it was a very long time ago. I think it was when I was 12 when I used them the first time and my memory from my tutor if I remember right was that he told me to build the colours up gradually, as adding the colour and depth was much easier than taking it away. That’s the only I advice I can give. I have never used the since, but I remember enjoying the experience and wishing we had another lesson using them at school.

    I like the shape of your tulip in last drawing. I think it’s just practicing the shading to get the depth of it and the further practice with your leaves that you had trouble with. I would have the same issues when it came to leaves too.

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    1. Thank you Liz, your comments are welcome and valuable to me. Copying a photo was difficult. I reckon I will do better when I create my picture. I am looking forward to doing a landscape of a beach or a country scene. 🙂

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      1. I have downloaded the photo you are doing, as I am going to set myself a challenge and see how I get on copying it with my watercolour paints. I plan to do this Sunday.

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      3. I would imagine in class, when you take all your drawings in, you will each get tips on it. You can then, if you want to, have another go. I hope you found it relaxing when you were having a go with this.
        I will share mine in a blog post later, linking to your blog post, so people know where my challenge idea came from. 🙂

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      4. I did enjoy creating the pictures and actually felt amazed I could do it. I am sure John the tutor will be able to give me tips on fixing it. It is relaxing, Today I will be making greeting cards for upcoming birthdays.

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  4. I only recently started drawing, so I’m still a novice. I too am a Virgo and I think you’re being too hard on yourself. It looks pretty good to me. You are probably trying to get it exact and I don’t think it has to be exact to look nice. I went to a painting class back in December with 30 other people. We were painting the same scene. At the end of the night, though all the paintings were similar, they were also all different and unique, and I thought we all did a great job.

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  5. I am a capricon and a perfect person too. I think it is something found in most artists. I started learning to draw in November. I use computer, though. It is not easy even with computer.

    Sometimes my tutor refuses to point out my mistakes because I get stuck on one picture for a long time. I feel like correcting things, again and again. He tells me if I continue like that I will never post anything, so he just pushes me to the next one and asks me to perfect the next one.

    Considering you are doing that on paper, you are many steps into your journey. One step at a time and things will be okay.

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    1. Thank you for your helpful comments. I hope you are enjoying art as much as I am. I have attached all the attempts into my art diary ready for the class next. The tutor usually gives good feedback and never puts anyone down. Cheers Ally

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    2. …I was trying to make some basic sketches on computer, especially the surreal images in the form of cubism etc. (I like to use math functions also, just to play with my creativity and imagination), but I still didn’t find the best approach, and especially not the right PC or Mobile Application to create that images. What applications do you use to make your graphics, sketches, etc.? Also, I was trying to find the app that would help me to create my own fractal geometry graphics like a piece of art work…

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      5. I have never used any mobile application , for my artwork. On computer, I have never tried any other application, just Sketch book Pro, that can do almost everything, but needs a lot of practice. Once I mastered the brushes I learnt the rest from YouTube.

        The shadows are a bit difficult for me, but my tutor helps me in this sometimes. If he is not around, I struggle with YouTube tutorials.

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      6. I have never heard of Sketch book Pro, might check it out. I sometimes watch YouTube how to videos. An Irish man Frank Clarke is good to watch. I am still learning about shadows .

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  6. You’re getting there, notice how the light on the petals and leaves spreads down them and the lighter colours bleed sideways into the petals? If you squint your eyes you will be able to see the contrast between the light and shade better. It’s a technique that let’s you see the tones more and the colours less. Try using strokes to shape the leaves and petals more, to make the edges feather into the colour of the darker areas.

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      2. I have decided not to do anymore work on this challenge. I will take the drawings that I have done to class next week……it’s a learning curve for me. Thanks for your help 🙂

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  7. I think you’re being too hard on yourself. To have started in Feb and to end up making that is brilliant! I think the flower looks really good, the only thing I would say is that when the colour is added it loses a little definition around the pretty petals (maybe give them a more distinctive outline or darer shading at certain points to make them stand out, I’m not sure) xx

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      2. Thanks. Next Tuesday is class, our work will be reviewed. We will then be given another project to tackle, it’s all good. No tests, no exams, no pass or fail as it’s just for following a passion and learning something new.

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  12. Hi there Ally! I love your artistic creations! To me, they look wonderful. As a fellow Virgo (and INFJ), I understand your self-criticism all too well. I would say, yes, you are definitely being entirely too hard on yourself! ♥

    So often, we look at our own creations and think, “No, that can’t be right!” While someone else comes along and says, “Wow, I LOVE this!” It could be art in any form. We must learn that our own opinions of ourselves are very flawed. Congrats on taking these classes. Keep up the beautiful work! Have an amazing day!

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  13. I think one of the most important things in drawing or painting is getting the shadows and highlights right to give the proper depth and dimensions to your picture. Watch in your photo where the color is deepest and where it is lightest. You have done a fairly good job on your tulip, especially the second one. Try using a darker color to add to the shadows and watch your tulip jump off the page so to speak.

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  14. I have learned a lot over the more than 60 years I have been drawing and painting. I have had some very bad results as well as some pretty good ones. I love to draw and paint though I don’t do much of it any more. I am much better with some subjects than with others. Some things I won’t even tackle. But I love to draw portraits and animals, especially dogs and cats. I have done a lot of scenery, too, but it depends on what is in that scenery whether or not it turns out well. Happy drawing and painting!

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