Serial Imagery Based on the Theme of Relection
January 14, 2016 § 1 Comment
This still life drawing in pencil also speaks to the subject of reflection. Our big red tabby, Jake had to get in on the action and so I incorporated him into the composition.
Peonies in the Shadows
December 4, 2015 § 1 Comment
I’m re posting a color drawing I completed a few years ago of a cluster of peonies casting shadows in the garden. I love how the flowers get so loose just before coming apart and provide even more interesting shadow shapes.
Borrowing From Others or Imitation is the Best Form of Flattery
November 18, 2015 § Leave a comment
This is an oil completed many years ago while in my early learning stages of painting and drawing. Yet, are we ever done learning? Part of my self instruction in the beginning was to copy and this was taken from a published photograph. Therefore, I was never able to use this for exhibition or for sale. I learned a lot by examining the work of others. The goal at the time was to try and capture the tender portrayal by the photographer of a grandmother and small girl. I was taken by the dramatic light play across the subjects coming from one source, the window; and the added contrast of the darkened room. While I appreciated the work of the photographer, I began to add touches of my own personality.
The Importance of Contour Drawing
June 3, 2015 § Leave a comment
Here are a pair of contours or line drawings of the sculpture of Persephone. Contour drawing lies at the heart of my teaching of drawing. It allows you as the artist to envision your composition; thinking all the way out to the edges. It provides the sense of a light source giving your subjects form or a three dimensional nature, But most importantly, by drawing blind and not keeping one’s head buried in the paper and instead on the subject, it reveals your personality. The hand becomes a tool of the eye and the contour becomes truly unique to you!!
The Power of Telling our Stories
April 28, 2015 § 2 Comments
I am showing you a contour of a still life consisting of garlic. This tool does much of the work for you, It is revealing of form by demonstrating the light source, laying out your composition, and letting your personality pour out onto the page. This contour is part of a two drawing series that merely looks at a changing light source. Here are the gradations that were based on informative contour. We can begin to say more about our subject material when we examine ways to say something different about it. Here, we keep the placement of the still life the same and change the light source.
Garlic Still Life
April 8, 2015 § 2 Comments
I’m showing the informative nature of the contour as it provides the framework for the finished gradation of garlic and cloves. 
Notice how the contour allows you to reveal your thought process of compositional considerations, the light source, area of emphasis. Once you have determined those elements, you are free to keep your eye on the subject and allow your personality to flow out onto the page. At this point, I keep my eye on the subject, let my hand become an extension of the eye, and rarely look at the surface of the paper. The contour line moves from light to dark describing the three dimensional nature of the subject, the light source, and the storyline you have set forth. Notice how my contour is curvilinear in nature. Yours will be very different. You can find examples such as these in my book The Little Book of Drawing; a Friendly Approach. My teaching style is encouraging in nature and allows you to try different media, techniques, and to find your own personal style of story telling through drawing. 
Second in a Series of Anna and Clare at Play
October 28, 2014 § Leave a comment
This is the second of a three drawing series depicting Anna and Clare at play. The first drawing showed the two little ones thinking about their next moves and now they’re beginning to interact. The tunnel at the playground allows their imagination to run wild! The contour or line drawing does most of the work for you by laying out the framework of composition, form revealed through a light source, and your personality. Serial imagery allows your storyline to go further than what you see in just one work.
Falling Peonies in the Shadows
December 27, 2013 § Leave a comment
Thought I’d give us a reminder of summer with this colored pencil/ pastel of peonies. It’s dark, wintry, and cold where we are. While the snow is beautiful, it’s nice to see some color.
Watercolor as a Drawing Medium
November 25, 2013 § 1 Comment
I am returning to watercolor after many years to explore its use with colored pencil and ink. So far, I am very excited as it has lent a vibrancy to my work that was lacking. This is a piece completed some years ago. If anyone has any tips of their own, please feel free to share!!
Letting the Contour do the Work for You!!!
September 19, 2013 § Leave a comment
Here is the contour and finished gradation of a floral. Notice how the line drawing does most of the work for you. It reveals the light source, which comes from the right. It tells a story of flowers nestling into their stems as they bend and reach upward. The composition gives a great sense of rhythm and repetition and shows an area of focus which is the flower on the right. Most importantly, it lets your personality shine through. The gradation should not require as much effort as the preplanning, expression, and the hard work have already been done!
Dr. Mary McNaughton and Drawing 