[Jan]

Congratulations on completing the long-pose figure drawing! It looks incredible!

[Jan]

Wow. Your hand studies are amazing and so alive. Day 15 is especially striking. I love the color palette. I also like the addition of the face in the last drawing. I look forward to seeing more of your work!

[Jan]

What an impressive thread! You handle many different mediums so beautifully. I especially love your gouache studies. Your work is a testament to the value of perseverance and practice. Congratulation on your accomplishment!

“It is only by drawing often, drawing everything, drawing incessantly, that one fine day you discover, to your surprise, that you have rendered something in its true character.” Camille Pissarro

[Jan]

Terrific work as always! You are talented in so many different mediums. You really have an impressive range of line quality too.

[Jan]

Thanks so much, Kat! I’m fairly decent at copying strokes, but hopefully I can tackle this next master study with a greater understanding of the process thanks to Joshua and NMA!

[Jan]

Very nice work! You had a great deal of ability at the beginning of your challenge, and your progress is evident already. NMA is an incredible resource, and I’m sure you will go far considering your dedication.

You mentioned in your post on the Asaro head planes that you were following allowing with Iliya, and I agree that the change between the two drawings is impressive! Iliya’s teaching is fantastic! I also like drawing along with him in real time during his lessons. Doing this has been enormously helpful to my own development as well. You did a great job on the Asaro head planes drawing. One thing I wanted to mention is make sure all the lines on the face are parallel or slightly converging. It’s something Iliya talks about in that particular lesson that I completely missed until another NMA poster kindly pointed it out to me. If you want to see Erik’s helpful draw over, you can click on my name and then go Reply #6787799 in my Planes of the Head post (under Topics Started). You might find his advice as valuable as I did. I look forward to seeing more of your work!

• This reply was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by Jan.

[Jan]

Your drawings are beautiful. I was following your previous 100 day challenge, which was very impressive. Kudos for starting another one! It seemed like much of your emphasis was on constructive drawing, which is something I’m still working on. I look forward to seeing your new studies for this challenge!

• This reply was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by Jan.

[Jan]

Hi Jana! You seem to be starting out with a great deal of ability! I agree with Tim about the wonderful detail and texture. I also love the color, and the composition seems strong. NMA is an amazing resource that will really help you grow. I look forward to seeing more of your work!

[Jan]

This quote by Salvador Dali made me think of you. Thank you for sharing your art and your insights!

“A true artist is not one who is inspired but one who inspires others.”

[Jan]

You have impressive abilities and amazing courage. I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through. I have a background in art therapy, and I’ve seen how art can be a powerful way to cope with grief and trauma. It’s inspiring to see how your work has become even stronger during your 100 Day Challenge.

[Jan]

These are great, Elizabeth. I’ve done the same studies, so I know how challenging drapery is. You definitely seem to understand the construction as well as the light and shadow. I love your technique, too. The only suggestion I might make regarding the last post is that the top edge of the fabric seems too dark or maybe too harsh. If it were a little softer it might read as more rounded.

I just reviewed your entire thread. Beautiful work!!!

[Jan]

Congratulations, Raven, on completing your challenge! I agree with Erik that you made tremendous progress. It’s evident that you’re now working based on construction and that you are really understanding what you’re drawing, which is something that is really emphasized at NMA (and something that so much art instruction seems to be lacking!). I’ve learned so much personally from following your posts especially since we seemed to have similar aspirations. I, too, hope you’ll keep sharing your work. Awesome job on the cast drawings! They really show how much you’ve learned!

[Jan]

Thank you, srsanyal for the encouragement! And thank you, Erik! Your critiques are always extremely useful. I can definitely see your point about the mouth and teeth. I’ve been trying to build the forms and allow the structure to show, but I always seem to end up softening the female portraits because they look too harsh. This seems to flatten the drawing. I’m going to work on pushing the 3D construction while still achieving a likeness.

I only had a limited time to make adjustments on this drawing after the comments I received since it was a Christmas gift. The feedback I received was very valuable, though, and I will use it going forward. I was nervous about presenting the portrait, but I’m grateful that it seemed to be genuinely appreciated. And I’m very grateful for everyone taking the time provide comments to help me improve.

[Jan]

Thank you so much, Leo and Raven. I’m extremely appreciative of your kind comments and valuable advice!

Leo, I did guess what you were going to say haha. You were not presumptuous at all. I really appreciated the drawover! Those were areas that I had softened, but the drawing looked much better with your suggestions. I went back in and made some slight adjustments, but I had to have the piece finished yesterday so I was afraid to do too much at this point. I’ll definitely use your suggestions as I start the next piece including the trick of using a Prismacolor black pencil! Thanks again for taking the time to critique!

I agree with you, Raven, about the eyes. I was thinking the same thing. I had just completed Steve Huston’s eye lesson before I started this drawing. I began with the structure but ended up softening it too much as I tried to get the likeness. That will be an area I’ll really concentrate on in the next portrait. Thank you, too, for providing feedback! I’m trying to follow your thread but have been so busy I haven’t made any recent comments. I’m excited to see how the coaching goes!

[Jan]

Thank you, Tim, for always taking the time to share your insights. I appreciate your kind comments. What a lovely quote from John Berger! I’m going to add that to my favorite quotes list. Merry Christmas to you, too!

Thank you, Leo, for taking the time to provide such valuable suggestions. Although I have created a value scale, I’m guilty of being “afraid of the dark” especially when drawing portraits. I recently completed the first 12 lessons in the Russian Academic Drawing Course including the Russian Approach to Light and Shadow. I feel like I’m gaining a better understanding of how light behaves on a form, but it is something I still struggle with. Your analysis was extremely helpful to me and I’ll use it going forward. Also, I’m so glad that you like the hair. It did take a lot of work!

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