Well this blog is about learning and I am learning. Every time I sit down and draw I learn something. Another note to self – always take a picture of the finished drawing before you put it away in the depths of your portfolio, this matters right now because I am going to talk about a picture and I don’t have a proper image to show the end result. I need to get to grips with photography and I am not really motivated to do that.
The plant that I was drawing was an agave (I think) although someone called it an aloe so I’m not sure, it was a gift anyway, and is a houseplant in England as it is too cold to put outside.
Agave drawing
I was interested in the folding shapes of the leaves and the serrated edges and of course, the colour.
Agave drawings
The colour of the plant was a really important quality of the plant, it had a very blueish tinge and a sort of dusty look. It’s so important to choose the colours correctly otherwise there is no chance of making the image match your observations, and dear reader, I begrudged the time to do this. I wanted to get on with things and rushed this process, and consequently paid the price – the drawing was the wrong colours.
Agave plant set up
Even as I was doing it I knew that it was wrong………….. but too late to go back, I was already committed so I went on.
Colouring in in progress
What happens if you continue despite the odds? Well you get a sense of achievement at finishing something, but you end up disappointed because you know it could have been better, with a little more effort and just a little more planning at the very beginning. It’s trite but it’s true ‘if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail’. Nuff said, lesson learned.
Hi Sue, I just wanted to say how much I am enjoying your blog. I have been remiss in making comments, but going back through your posts you made me laugh and say me too. I will also shuffle and arrange my art materials rather than get going, but like you, I have many pages of colour swatches that are invaluable tools and make them for each new set of colours I buy. I have enjoyed your writing style and the pictures of your work in progress. Keep up the lovely drawings and the entertaining blog. Karen
Thank you for your kind comments, I’m doing procrastination at the moment!!
I planned to paint a birthday card for my mum of iris foetidissima yesterday and rushed through two pictures, which both looked awful, so I bought a card from Helen Brown at the pottery instead. Your comments on continuing regardless of it not working, really resonated with me. I thought of your suggestion to do some copying, so I’m going to follow that up to get me back on track. Lisa
It’s really tough when you spend a good amount of time doing something and you feel it amounts to nothing, but it is a lesson learned. Mistakes are a hard lesson but they are jolly useful.