A new drawing.

[femmedem]

I've been going out with my little sketchbook most mornings this summer and drawing for twenty minutes or so before work. But a few weekends ago I decided to set up my easel on this little-traveled side street with some larger, better paper and take more care with a drawing. I worked on this over a couple of mornings and finished it up today.

I'm happy with this one! I think the sketching practice is paying off.

[Ocelot II]

1. I like it! Very nicely done!

[femmedem]

3. Thanks!

I haven't had time for much painting, but I'm really enjoying drawing humble urban landscapes.

[pandr32]

2. Well done!

[femmedem]

4. Thank you!

I feel like this is my natural subject matter, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it takes me.

[pandr32]

43. Keep it coming.

[sinkingfeeling]

5. very nice

[femmedem]

7. Thank you!

[peasant one]

6. thought it was a photo

I had to scroll down on this picture and when I saw the first half of it, I thought it was a photo from the 40s or 50s (I love old photos from that era). Once I scrolled the rest of the way down I could tell it was a drawing-very nice. I like the subject matter too. Keep up the good work.

[femmedem]

8. Thank you!

One of my favorite artists, Charlie Hunter, paints old barns and train tracks and forgotten industrial places with a monochromatic brown palette, and he aims for that kind of old, sepia photo feel. I bet you'd like his work as much as I do: https://www.artworkarchive.com/profile/charliehunter-art?general_filter=2

[rainy]

9. Wow!!!! Love this!

[femmedem]

26. Thank you!

For a long time, my drawings have been exercises to learn various skills--figure drawings, self-portraits--but this one feels as if I've found my subject matter.

[Bristlecone]

10. Exceptional.

Your lines, perspective, hatching, all just exceptional.

[femmedem]

27. Thank you!

I took a three-day workshop in May with Dan Thompson, and learned a lot from him.

[LoisB]

11. This is exceptional work.

[femmedem]

28. Thank you, Lois B.

Definitely a step forward for me.

[ZZenith]

12. Great composition!

And atmosphere.

Thanks for showing us this!

[femmedem]

29. Thank you!

The sketching I've been doing this summer has been teaching me how to think about composition.

[Karadeniz]

13. Wow!!!

[femmedem]

30. Thank you!

Your reaction and all the other responses to this drawing have gotten my morning off to a wonderful start.

[Mr.Bill]

14. That's great!

Nice work.

[femmedem]

31. Thanks!

Much appreciated!

[herding cats]

15. I really enjoy this.

Your composition is very good here!

[femmedem]

32. From one cat herder to another, thank you!

[Chicagogrl1]

16. Wow!! Amazing work

[femmedem]

33. Thank you!

Most of my drawings are piled up in my spare room but I think I'll frame this one.

[Diamond_Dog]

17. That came out very nice!

Your perspective is excellent and. I really like the hazy, almost dreamy quality of your rendering.

[femmedem]

34. Thanks! A lot of the haziness is from the texture of the paper.

I used a good handmade paper that I'd been saving for months.

[fierywoman]

18. You're amazing!

[usonian]

20. Amazing.

It's soft and subtle but it also gives the impression of lots of detail. And the Subaru!

[femmedem]

35. Aw thanks, but it's just practice, like any skill.

I'm just a bumbley human like the rest of us.

[Trueblue Texan]

19. Man! That car is great!

Hard to imagine you had to learn this stuff from zip and yet you draw so well! I have so far to go to get close to this level. I wonder if my brain will finally latch on to perspective without me having to turn myself upside-down, inside-out to get it right. Will it ever feel natural? I will keep working at it...but cannot imagine I will ever draw this well. Thank you for sharing this piece!

[femmedem]

36. Thanks! I didn't learn from zip, though. I studied art in college, oh so many years ago.

Please don't get discouraged. It will begin to feel natural, I promise. Every once in a while, I refresh my memory about how to plot out perspective, but honestly, that makes my brain hurt. I'm just not wired that way. I don't plot anything out; I don't look for vanishing points; I just keep checking my angles against what I'm looking at.

Taking your time with some drawings matters, because it teaches you to keep erasing when you see that something is off, and to persevere when you feel like starting over. But also, frequent sketching from observation will help quite a bit. I think you might get comfortable with perspective by going out with a sketchbook and doing rough, 20-30 minute sketches of local streetscapes. Besides, what could be better than going outside and drawing on a beautiful day? Especially in the early morning or late afternoon, when the light is your friend.

[Trueblue Texan]

42. Thank you so much for your encouragement!

I take it to heart and will heed your advice! Looking forward to more of your work!

[flying rabbit]

21. Well done

[femmedem]

37. Thank you!

[stage left]

22. K&R

Really nice work. The perspective looks perfect.

[femmedem]

38. Thanks! I'm getting better with perspective, although I don't plot it all out.

I just try to get the angles right through observation.

[CaptainTruth]

23. Awesome! Great job!

[femmedem]

39. Thank you!

[Rhiannon12866]

24. Wow! That is wonderful!

You really have a gift!

[femmedem]

40. Thanks, Rhiannon.

I don't think it's a gift, though. Much more like practice and interest. I always try to emphasize that so that people know they can do it, too. It just takes a lot of practice and study. Fortunately, even if people can't afford to the time or money to study with someone in person, there's a lot of great information online.

[diva77]

25. Outstanding!

Definitely original and gives a strong sense of mood.

[femmedem]

41. Thank you!

Something about that street captures me. It used to be a manufacturing hub for the small city I live in, but the buildings are all vacant now.