COMFORT IN DARKNESS

For this piece, I was hoping to teach myself some realistic detailing and shading techniques. I did this using only two pencils, a lighter one for fine detail and overall structure and a darker one for more realistic shadow, as well as working slowly. I also wanted to focus on texture, meaning I wanted it to seem like you could feel the texture of the shell through the drawing. I feel as though I accomplished this. The most difficult thing about doing this, however, is the amount of detail that I ended up putting into this painting. I was completely stressed out trying to finish this drawing because I wanted to make sure that I had all the proper detail and value of the shells. Most parts I think turned out well, like the more lighter parts, since I am not very good at shadow yet I believe. I do think I learned more about it though. I’m confident that if I were to draw something like this again then I would be able to draw something of maybe even a higher quality. A mentor that I enjoy learning and viewing is an artist that goes by the name Loish, or Lois van Baarle. She does an excellent job with shading and the use of color in her drawings. I have been admiring her for many years now and I truly aspire to be just like her one day. In the class, I usually looked to my right at Gabrielle for a comparison to my art and hers. I went to school with her and I have been admiring her ability to draw such realistic drawings for the past couple years. If I was able to do this drawing over, I would make something more abstract. I would, rather than add so much detail, take detail out and use many more values. I do feel very happy and proud of this drawing nonetheless. I accomplished my beginning goal of making a drawing look as realistic as possible and seem almost lifelike.