Today I placed basic tonal values into the sketch to record the patterns of shadow falling on the turtle. Tomorrow I'll finish laying in these values, then move on to smaller details.

I've started a new drawing in my animal series, this time a turtle, one of my favourite animals.
The first stage is an initial sketch to place landmark shapes and line direction – particularly important with the linear texture of the turtle's shell:

At last, here is the final image...
Off to rest my eyes for a while!

While I'm off spending the day doing odds and ends, here's a little glimpse at the brunch we had on Sunday morning at Cora's... Eggs Ben et Dictine (with asparagus and Swiss cheese), and the most creative presentation of fruit I've ever seen!
This was fuel for the entire day, believe me!

Almost there...

Today I coloured in the majority of the dark shadows behind the plant, then did more work on some of the warm tones in the leaves. One or two more days of work, and this drawing will be finished!

Stage four of my drawing: I'm slowly laying in fine detail in the Brassica plant leaves while trying to work in a fairly loose way at the same time. Charcoal seems to be the perfect media for rendering these leaves, which are smooth in physical texture but somewhat mottled in colour and tonal value.

I spent the day laying in shadows and variations in cool and warm colours in the Brassica plant's leaves. I'm working digitally and using variants of coloured charcoal in this piece. So far, I'm happy with the way the drawing is coming together!

Today was a day full of work other than art work!
Tomorrow I'll be back with my latest progress on the Brassica plant. I'm thankful that I took so many pictures this summer and have much to draw from for reference. Today was grey and blustery and chilly, and tonight we're in for the first real snow of the season...I'm bracing myself!
Until tomorrow...

My latest drawing is of a friend's brassica plant which I photographed this summer. I love the massive, smooth leaves with their dramatic veins, and the deep, cool shadows a mature plant creates in bright sunlight.
This image is two day's worth of work spent mainly sketching in the details I wanted to include. After that I began laying in flat colour to define shapes: