Lisa's Drawings

Lisa's conte drawing has a beautiful feel. She 's working from her own photos which are really nice. As she noted, the perspective got off a little as the table is tipping down relative to the objects.

I like the dialogue between the vase and the pear a lot.

Any critique of successful pieces can feel like nitpicking but we can learn from everything.

What I might suggest is cropping both the top and bottom. This puts more emphasis on the main elements. I'm guessing that she already intended to do this and shared the raw drawing. This alone makes the drawing even more successful.

Conte is very difficult to make changes on. This makes the success of the piece more impressive because what you initially put down is pretty much what you get.

In future what may be instructive for all of us are the following:
1. Think always about the negative spaces. The shape of them is just that, a shape, and in composition is just as important as the shapes in the featured objects.
2. Be aware of the opportunities to give the objects character. Lisa's rendering of the pear is really beautiful with a nice volume and presence. It may be just a tad static because of it's symmetry. In future look for the unique relationships of the angles in the contour and the interior shapes as well. In my markup you can she the counter angles that the pear in the photo has. I looks like a human figure in a contrapposto pose which artists employ to give the figure more life and rhythm. The shape on the left side of the vase also curves to the right and make the vase lean into the center a little.
3. Just a note to look for opportunities to create dynamic shapes and rhythms. Care in creating the shapes can also be a way to illustrate the characteristics of species or objects most accurately. Note the larger flower shapes in shadow side.
4. This area shows the idea of the flattened table that Lisa noted as well as a note to knock the value down back there a little. Note this in the photo.
5. I lengthened the vase a little hereto both give the vase a little bit more elegant form as well as a way of setting up the relationship between the flower and the pear a little better.

This is a great set up and beautiful lighting. It's a successful start in a difficult medium.

I think there may be as many possible techniques in pen and ink as in painting. All of the can work. The difficult thing is having the patience to give each mark integrity when you're making so many narrow marks. It may take 50 marks to every one with a loaded paint brush. The quick illustration below just shows that we wand to consider the direction of our marks to describe form as we do with a brush.

1. Once again, look to the negative spaces in this case the space is much larger and is important for defining the pears and the light.

2. Is more of the same regarding negative shapes. Lisa has done a nice job of animating these objects.

3. Just a note to look at where the table edge crosses behind the pears and also to flatten the angle of the table top.

4. I know this drawing is in progress and the shadows aren't done. Be aware of their shape, direction, where they start and how they lighten as they get further from the pears. I kind of think of shadows as objects in their own right as their shapes can be an integral element in a composition.

Overall, both pieces are nicely done and both shots are really well composed and would make good paintings as well.