There are 5 months since I joined the wonderful community here at drawspace.com on March 25, 2008.
It has been a great time of practice and learning new things, a mind challenge and discipline in drawing everyday at least a couple of hours, interacting with artists and admiring beautiful artworks of the site's members.
Here is how I used to draw prior to joining drawspace in March
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and my progress after 2 weeks on drawspace
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my progress in May
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and in June
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All this growth was possible with your support, dear friends and I am very much appreciative of your constant interest in my learning experience, your encouragement and constant feedback on my work.
I have no words to thank you for the wonderful time spent together in these past 5 months.


And today's sketch of my only Hollywood idol ever.
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July
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Congratulations on your progress! Your hard work and dilligence have definitely paid off. Here's to the next five months, and five years!

wow I wish I had done that ...you have moved along very nice with constant growth.....its very cool to watch the steps .. thanks for sharing that with us hun

Elena congratulations!!!
Your improvement can be seen in each one of your portraits, and what a nice idea to post them here, it is really easier to see the diference between them.
Keep going and maybe we'll be seeing your name all around the world.
I can already see the big posters ( Elena the great woman who found drawspace and became a great artist)

It is a big help when we have feedback, and we sure have that here at drawspace


I think I'll do the same if you don't mind me "copying" your idea?!

Thank you, my friends.
Clara is even more interesting to see and compare how each of us evolved during a period of time here on drawspace. So, go ahead and post your work.
This will show how different we are from each other and how we progress at our own pace.

Dear Friend:

I am impressed by your work. You came a long way!!

Cheers!!!

fernando bartra/rednova
-mobilis in mobile-

Beautiful transformation, Elena, and I know you will continue to grow for the rest of your life! Isn't it wonderful?!!

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1) Self-portrait at age 14
2) Self-portrait at age 42, just joined Drawspace
3) Self-portrait at age 43, six months (or so) at Drawspace

Yes, dramatic progress, ERnest.

that is really wonderful elena..drawspace has been a wonderful place i agree..and you and i have grown very much together here..

Elena,

Your progress is amazing! It really shows that you have found something that you love todo. You've shown a lot a passion. Even with your comments, I sense your sincerity. Keep sharing your creations.

I like how you started before drawspace. I think that drawing shows that you knew form very well, then after you master the art of depth. The wonderful challenge that we all never stop learning.

Thank you, fernando, barb, kay, gilbert and andrew. A added todays' quick sketch.Needs more polishing but i feel the vacation approaching.

Its wonderful to look back and see where we were.

Elena thank you for sharing your wonderful journey so far - you are inspiring!

very good progress too Ernest, Drawspace is a fantastic place isns't it, of course it allso depends on your own effort, and that can truly be seen here Keep going my friend and we will soon see you in those big posters too

I'll post my progress soon.

As promised here are my portraits before after joining Drawspace
I joined drawspace in January 2008

Before joining Drawspace
2005
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2007
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After joining drawspace
January
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Febuary
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March
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April
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May
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June
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July
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This is such a fun topic - to see the progress of so many who began their quest for better drawing skills here on Drawspace. I was trying to find some of my really old work before I went back to college but I'm not sure where any of it is. Most of my drawings were created for greeting cards which I then sent to the person I was making it for. I know I did make some copies of some of them but I'm not sure where I put them. I have a few drawings my professor had us take on before he started teaching the class so those would actually be considered my first drawings as self taught. I thought they were pretty darned good but I know he had other ideas.
Here is a link to those drawings:
My Drawings Blog
The bottom two were done prior to the teaching and the top was, I believe, the third drawing of the class after discussing the first two in class. The third one was a self-portrait in a setting that said something about the artist. You can see at that time I was very much a "country" girl - collected old kitchen items and such.

I'll have to look through the rest of my old portfolio and see where all of the in betweens are. The most recent are, of course, mostly here at Drawspace.

Hard to tell too much at that size, but those all look both extremely ambitious and extremely well-done!

You are right, Ernest, they are rather small. I guess I was told you should always keep your final uploaded pieces to a size that discourages people from printing your work. These are all 18"x24" pieces so I had to take digital pics rather than scan them. They are very fuzzy pics, too.
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I actually worked with wood way back then. That perpetual calendar clock is something I designed and built. It still hangs on my dining room wall.
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In this one, the wooden shelf with the cutout heart is something I made, as well as the little rolling pig! If I had a closer picture, you can also read most of the writing on the book!
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Can you see these any better, Ernest?

Clara, your progress is visible and nice to follow.
My feeling is that drawspace is a workshop that encourages steady work through emulation, reciprocal support, and a routine discipline we freely accept and go by.
Also the human bond established here among the members is a wonderful thing, we exchanged so many things together all through art which keeps us motivated to come back and share more with our friends.It can't get any better than that and I am glad being a part of it.

Clara, I love your work and you have developed it beautifully!

Elena, so eloquent - I was looking for the words and there they were from you - thank you.

self portrait from avatar pic which is very bad quality id photo size.

April 2
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July 26
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what do you think?

My progress:

Fall 2004 - I started reading "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain"
This is the first exercise to serve as a "before" picture
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I worked through the entire book but stopped at the last exercise...the self portrait. I didn't draw again for about 3 years.

8/5/07 - After 3 years of procrastination - self portrait exercise
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Drew regularly ever since


January 2008 - Self Portrait
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March 2008 - Self Portrait with a clown nose
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Thank you Sue and Elena

Elena that last portrait is much better than the one before, that was already quiete good, in both it can be seen its your avatar pic, but the last one with the shading is awsome.

Mechtonia, that is an amazing evolution. comparing your firts portrait 2007 and the last two, wow what a diference your work has really paid, keep going

Mecht... After 3 years your progress is amazing and unbelievable. Love your self portrait and keep on drawing.

lily

Thanks. I hope people will see the "before" and "after" pictures and realize that drawing is a learned skill like reading and calculus. Its not something that you are either born with or not. Anyone can do it if they take the time to learn how.