Back to the Drawing Board

This month, Susan Sorrell is teaching a class in outline drawing for embroidery at Joggles.com.  I decided to take it -- not so much for the embroidery as for the drawing.  Going into my last C&G module, I realized that I have to revisit my seeing skills, and learn to enjoy using my sketchbook in order to give my work the polish it needs going forward.  To date I've fought working in my sketchbook, working with persistence but not much enjoyment.  I've decided to look for the joy.

This morning I worked on my first exercise with a teacup and saucer, a sugar bowl and a creamer from my dining set.  The first page of attempts -- 2B pencil, timed at 1 or 2 minutes each -- wasn't so great, and took a good deal of energy despite the short intervals of time:

Lesson 1 - First Steps

The second page -- a single attempt before posting to the class forum -- was much better.  (Note: my photography skills are another matter.)

Lesson 2 - Second Steps

I've begun to think perhaps I haven't forgotten all I learned in my Beginners' Drawing & Watercolour class with Sharon Williams in Calgary several years ago.  If I can get my brain to stop hurting with the effort, I might actually enjoy this!