How to draw... #2.1

Ok sorry, I wrote Rule 2 in a jiffy. But I'm not saying it's not true.

For me toning doesn't come naturally and I have been criticised before. But that's because my origins weren't from realism. My first love was Cubism. So my early attention to light and shadow was limited if not any at all. My priority was form, texture and colour. It was only when I began to slide from the abstract, the whimsy of visual art to the delicate still life I faced my first challenge. I was once criticised for my preliminary canvas painting of orchards during a painting studio. I was told to look where the light was coming from and where the resulting shadow would be and try again. You see, although it was a still life, the flowers were real and I drew them from life but the entire canvas composition was entirely made up and so must the lighting. Subsequently, the next day, I painted over the entire canvas with a selection of whites and brown in contrast to the prior vibrant but flat pinks and reds. I'll show her! When the tutor came round again, though she was pleased with the improvement, she seemed rather astound at my abrupt turn around. I guess she didn't think I'd repaint the entire canvas.

Now days, it's a whole new approach. It's portraiture in graphite. The pro is that it's a medium that is simple to use - we've been using pencil since we were toddlers - and it's easy to correct mistakes. The challenge is more detail is required to achieve the realistic effect so more patience and care.