DC Sketcher's

I am determined that while I am in DC, I will find art adventures and connections.  In the Capitol Hill nieghborhood, where I am, there is an organization called Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, or CHAW.  I went to their website to see what was going on and found that there was a drawing class on Saturday mornings....so I signed on.  It is called DC Sketchers.

I am so glad I did it. The teacher, Kent Gay, is a real enthusiast of drawing.  He has reading assignments as well as some challenging drawing exercises.  The books to read are Betty Edwards, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, and my all-time favorite, Nicholas Nicholaides, The Natural Way to Draw.   He will also assign some other readings, such as the thoughts of John Ruskin.  Today, I read about needing to devote TIME to drawing. 

We met at the Mount Pleasant Farmer's Market this morning and talked about blind contour drawing and then drew kale.  Kale is a good model--it's very intricate, with lots of active lines, and doesn't move.   Above is my kale drawing.

When we were finished with that, we did an exercise of doing a blind contour of our palm.  We used less time (10 minutes) for that.  Here's my result.

Some kudos are in order for Kitty Wallis here.  I got props today for placement on the page.  It is completely natural to me to think about that before starting now....thanks to a year of drawing with Kitty's direction, the Nicholas Nicholaides book, and learning about Nicholas Carone.   I learned a lot from that experience....but still have more to learn.   And, I am happy with myself for doing it. 

Learning to draw is like a gift...but one you have to work for.  Actually, I guess the teachers are the gift, and I have been fortunate.  Next week, we go to the Botanical Gardens to do modified contour drawings.  I'm thinking orchids and exotic plants!  Stay tuned.....