Drawing Prompt #3: KM and MP

KM first!

KM is the first person to show her Week 3 drawing of leaves to me. As she is still at work during the lock down, she actually got up at 6am on Wednesday morning to draw a leaf - now that is dedication! Using a collection of Silver Birch leaves KM has done a very interesting thing with her work, she has drawn the life cycle of the leaf. Starting with a green leaf turning golden she has shown how the leaf progressess through the different stages slowly turning crispy brown. Clever!

This has been done on a 110gsm paper with Derwent watercolour pencils. I feel that the drawing would have benefited from a heavier weighted paper as her work has been affected by a few creases.

The silver birch leaves are well observed, showing the distinctive ragged edges. Also, she has thought about the way the leaves change colour and has linked each leaf to the other by including some of the previous leaf's colour in the new leaf. It would have been good to see maybe a few holes or torn edges in that last crispy leaf but the overall effect and compostion works quite well.

I like the idea of using shadows to give dimension to each leaf, but I find it a little distracting that she has used a different shading direction and technique for each shadow.

KM has created a very pleasing drawing with an individual and imaginative story. Well done.

'Autumn life cycle' by KM

MP came next

Not long after recieving KM's work, MP sent through her lovely drawing of 3 Autumn leaves. MP has chosen three distinctly different shaped and coloured leaves for her composition. She has created this on A4 Art Spectrum 300gsm hot press paper Prismacolour watercolour pencils and 2B graphite in a wash and dry technique.

The leaves are well observed and drawn with particular attention given to each individual form. They have been arranged on the page in a pleasing composition. MP's rendering of hue and execution of the colour transition on each leaf is very good. Her handling of the medium shows proficiency and sensitivity. The addition graphite helps the tone of the color harmonise and adds a good depth. I like the contrasting shapes of the leaves - each form is different and reconisable tree species. It appears MP may have done a bit of indenting as the veins of the leaves are thin and distinct without being drawn likes. This works quite well.

A very successful, well observed drawing.

'Three leaves' by MP