Beginner's Pencil Drawing Sketches

The world is full of beauty, and in Beginner's Pencil Drawing, we find ways of seeing & drawing it in our sketchbooks.  

We've just embarked on a new series of Pencil Drawing classes at the Community College of Beaver County, and we're having fun exploring the world with our pencils.

The homework this week is to draw your breakfast or to draw a small piece of your life, daily if possible, even for 5-10 minutes.  When your materials are a few drawing pencils and a sketchbook, it's easy to jump right into making art.

The morning after our first class, I sat at the breakfast table, intending to draw eggs and veggie sausages, but these flowers called out to be sketched.  I started by drawing the scene before my eyes.  

I took the above photo to allow me to put more detail in the drawing after the breakfast dishes were cleared away and the light had changed. In my phone's photo editor, I translated the color photo to black-and-white using a filter.  This helps to clearly see the values in the scene.

I started the sketch with a 2B graphite pencil.

Simple marks lightly laid down were the beginning, and I held the sketch at arm's length to check it now and again.  I began adding tone with a 10B pencil once I felt satisfied with the general layout.

I wanted to show the light values of the lily by creating the darker tones around the flower.

All of the shapes of the other flowers around the lily were interesting to my artist's eye.  It was fun adding in darker values and suggesting the shapes of mums, daisies and leaves.

I took a break from drawing, and when I looked at the photo above, I realized that I wanted to add more dimension to the lily.  It looked flat.

I darkened the values around the lily.  I liked the way this popped the lily forward.  Then I added a few dark spots within the lily, unifying the composition.

Looking at a photo of your artwork or simply stepping back from it lets you focus on the whole composition and assess what needs work.  Or what needs to be celebrated! Sometimes you step back and see that something beautiful has developed.  Make sure to be open to that possibility.

Remember that the more you sketch, the more opportunities for discoveries you create. Each sketch -- whether you love it or don't --builds your drawing skills.

Happy Creating!

Thrift Haul: Faber Castell Pitt Graphic Pencils

On a recent trip to the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse, I found this little kit of pencils and snatched them up for $1.25!  What an amazing find!

The kit included a 2B, 4B, 10B and 12B Pitt Graphite pencil, and a soft white pastel pencil, all by Faber Castell.  The graphite pencils cover a wide range of values, from black through light grays.

I tested out the kit by making this sketch of my potted indoor fig tree in my nature journal.  The tree has just begun to unfurl new leaves in the winter sunshine.

I love the dark shadows I can create with these pencils, and the way they stand up to hard pressure.  The graphite didn't break as soft pencils often do.  

I was also surprised at how I could erase marks cleanly with a gum eraser.  Most of my other 9B and softer pencils leave behind residual marks when erased.

If you're in the Pittsburgh area, I hope you'll stop by the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse.  It's my favorite thrift shop by far.  The staff are kind & happy to help, the supplies are of good quality and ever changing, and the vibe is creative & friendly.

 Happy Creating!