Layers

Dear Sarah - Day 109 of our daily drawing exchange

April 19, 2025

Hi Nikki,

Added shade and tone to Porto today (and also made a birthday card for a friend). I'm trying not to see flaws/mistakes in the Porto drawing (although I really want to cut off the building on the far right). The next step is adding detail. I'm not using watercolour paper, so the paper is getting very curvaceous! I'd love to take another course from Ian F. He's a great teacher and very supportive. He does a course on drawing "junk" such as old tractors, derelict boat etc. that I'd enjoy, I think.

Taking my friend Bonnie (whose 85th birthday it is) out to vote, then for tea and a walk by the water. Then back to work.

XO S

Hi Sarah -

Today’s lecture was a lot of fun - the prof from Rome shared some short clips from various Italian films, each of which included some reference to food. It was a great introduction to the ways in which food (or, lack thereof) reflect social class, tradition, and region - as well as historical context. Very cool. I now have a list of films to watch in full…

As for drawing, today I did a short tutorial on how to draw more realistic fur.

I used only a single pencil, a smudge stick, and a delicate eraser (happened to have one that I bought with Dad years ago).

My pencil was neither quite soft enough nor sharp enough to get the optimal effect, but I can see how layering and planning in advance where the darker areas will be makes a difference in how this would work when drawing a shaggy dog.

Given I had a couple of fabulously hairy dogs, I’m going to dig out some photos for reference and try a dog portrait.

Happy Birthday to lucky Bonnie! I would love to receive a handmade card and… my birthday is coming up in early May. Just saying…

Talk to you soon -
Nikki