Hello!
Our new host NCgirl is having trouble posting pictures. I am going to give you one to go on while we figure this out.

Here are the usual rules,

All levels of drawing are encouraged to participate!

The goal of this thread is to enable and encourage individuals to practice their drawing skills, learn new techniques and have fun! If you just want to sketch that’s fine. If you want to create a complex, detailed drawing, that’s great too. You will get out of this what you want. The references used are from my own personal reference library of images that I have photographed and I release them here as not under copyright, meaning you can use them as you wish for drawing.

You will be challenged by some aspect of all references most likely as you all will have different strengths and weaknesses in your ability to translate the images to paper.

Reminder:

This is a DRAWING challenge. Therefore please confine your artistic endeavours to some form of drawing: graphite, coloured pencil, pen and ink or charcoal.

There is no ruling on what size your final drawing or sketch should be. Smaller, sketchbook sizes will provide a smaller file size which is easier for loading onto the thread.

If you would like assistance or advice, please ask for it and I will be more than willing to try to guide you.

This challenge will last for one week. At that time, all challenge drawings should be submitted to this thread.

I have offered 3-5 reference images to choose from. The images are also provided in greyscale. Seeing the images in black and white gives a better sense of basic values.

I have kept the images to simple shapes that still provide challenges. Block out your basic shapes first then work the details into them, rechecking proportion and measurement against other reference points in your drawing.

If you have an interest in hosting a challenge, please see the list in the pinned area of general discussions.

And here is my picture,

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Feel free to do the whole scene, one or just a piece of one.

i have a lots of drawings
mayoritarie grafite

omg guinea hens..lol..when i was a child the neighbors had a herd of these hens and they use to come over everyday, eat my green beans growning in the garden and leave eggs, which my dog used to gently bring home and place on the doorstep..

That is too funny!

I'm in! They are cuties!

I hope you guys didn't give up on me! I finally got one picture to upload and hopefully more will follow tomorrow! Paulette, thanks for your patience and coming to my rescue! I apologize to everyone in advance for the low resolution on the photos - it's the only way I can get them to upload.

Continuing on the bird theme, attached is a shore bird that I captured on film last weekend. He was very curious and ran around me for several minutes before deciding that I wasn't of much interest. Enjoy - more to follow!
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Another picture! This one of some wonderful freshly washed red potatoes - ready to toss in the pot and mash! Still working on the rest of my pictures - thanks to all for your patience - I'm not very good with this computer thingy.
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Hi, Paulette!
They are too lovely! I offer to draw them all. Pencil, 30 min.

ncgirl !
I'll come again later !

Courage, everybody!

Great pictures NCgirl! I am glad you figured it out. I'll turn the hosting over to you.

Great drawing NVA and thank you for the grayscale, I forgot all about it.

Ncgirl I like your pictures so far but they need editing, like cropping and resizing. This can be achieved with a photo editor. In case you don't have one there are many free online which you can install in your computer.A bird or potatoes picture can be visible in detail with a size 800x600 pixels. Easy to upload and draw from.Any help you need further I can provide. Just PM me.

Even if I rarely eat potatoes, I felt drawn to draw them in sanguine on sketch pad 9x12in;10 minutes.

NCGIRL, This reminds me of some potatoes I've drawn sometimes ago.
An

I love the picture of the shore bird, not sure I will get to it this week but I will eventually. Will try this week, it is a striking pic though. We had quineas on the farm, my Dad determined they were the dumbest things he ever raised. He gave up on them as they were more trouble than they were worth, people did like the eggs though.

At last! I have the rest of my pictures ready to go - again, thanks to everyone for being patient! Elena, thanks for suggestion - yes, I'll PM you in a few to get some tips - obviously I need help on the computer.

Let's start off with a picture from Atlantic Beach of a section of fence buried in the sand. I liked the lonely look of the forgotten fence.

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For those of you who love spiders, this lovely one lives outside my office window. Some people are terrified of spiders, but this particular spider (sometimes called a garden spider or zipper spider - because of their web patterns) are said to bring good fortune.

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Did anyone really think I would host a challenge without at least one cat picture? This is HodgePodge, sadly deceased, but alive in my heart forever.
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As evening fell at Atlantic Beach I snapped one final picture of a fisherman on his way home. Hope he got a good catch!
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Enjoy all - look forward to seeing all the drawings - let me know if you have any problems with the photos, I'll try, try again!

NVA - I love this drawing! You have really captured these guineas with all their charm! I really like the warm tones in the drawing.

Elena, as always, you've done such a great job on your drawing! Thanks! Please tell me (very amateur artist) what sanguine is - does that refer to the color of the pencil you are using?

Wow! These are lovely! Thanks for sharing this picture! It seems to me that potatoes are such an "earthy" food, they are great models for still life, with all their bumps and curves and perfect imperfections.

Sanguine and sepia are sketching pencils.

Excellent! I love the look they produce - time to get on the internet and find a supplier! Thanks!

Try Dick Blick art materials they have excellent stuff.I just order more materials yesterday from them.

Thanks! So far, all of my art materials have come from Michael's craft stores. Nice enough, but in a rural area, the selection is small.

Here is my drawing of HodgePodge (10x10 cm, 2H/2B graphite). Danielle started one but she's not finished; if she does finish it I will post it later.
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Very beautiful cat drawing, Ernest !
Here is landscape and potatoes, in quick charcoal
An

Thank you - he looks wonderful! (It's a little hard to see him with all these tears in my eyes). Looking forward to Danielle's version!

An, gorgeous drawings, thank you! What kind of paper are you using? It really sets a nice background!

I really look the look of this bird. He seems to have the whole beach to strut over and is enjoying it. Don't know what kind of bird he is though.

Thanks for the wonderful sketch mumwond - he is gorgeous! Nice use of color!

I think they are called "sand-pipers", although I have heard other names. My favorite is the Spanish name for them - "rapidos" - I guess because they move so fast.

There were actually three of these little birds on the beach that day. They were quite funny, running around and around me, very friendly. They are actually very small birds. If memory serves, they feast on the little clams and other tiny creatures in wet sand, so they are always chasing a wave out to sea and then running back to the beach as the next wave comes in.

Ncgirl, I used ordinary white paper. The background of the photo is the side-effet... of the desk lamp. I usually work late in the night and, before going to bed, I take some few minutes to draw for relax.
Here is the cat, in charcoal.

Thank you! I went through my meager art supplies last night trying to find something that would produce the same effect. It looks very much like the Old Masters - very Renaissance. Drawing is a good way to relax after (or during) a long day at work.

Your charcoal rendering of the cat is beautiful. Very nice detailing and shading. Hodgepodge would be pleased to see this picture.

Well, it's An again.
I'm caressing the terrifying spider. It's dark raining outside and I am alone in my room.
Maman !

Watch out An! Your spider is wonderful - very realistic!

Great photos ncgirl. I'll try to tackle one of them at lunchtime.

Sanguine and sepia, I class as colours of pencils and can be found in a number of types and brands from wax or oil based to conte and pastel. I use sepia colour in prismacolor pencils because I like the look of images drawn with it. I also use Derwent Drawing pencils which have a range of earth tones that include a dark red/brown similar to sanguine.

Thanks Jeanette, looking forward to seeing your drawings!

I think the local craft store here carries Derwent. Also, Elena suggested an internet art supply site. Either way, I've got to try working with the sepia and sanguine colors! I like the warmth and depth that they are creating in the drawings posted here. Is there a big difference in the wax or oil based? How hard are they to erase (asks the amateur artist who has worn out more erasers than pencils ).

Wow, I admire all the drawings very much this week and the selection of Photo's,

I tried a quick sketch of the buried fence, thanks for the challenge ncgirl.

Fantastic drawing! Woodstock is one of my all-time favorite cartoon characters (right behind Bugs). Thank you for making us smile today!

Oil or wax based pencils are more difficult to erase ncgirl. But it can be done, usually with poster putty or an electric or battery eraser. You can also use drafting film which erases easily back to the original surface, but is a bit trickier to use in terms of numbers of layers you can put down.

The Derwent Drawing pencils and thicker and creamy, I like them a lot and the earthy natural colours are wonderful.

Nice peaceful scene Brian. Seems like Woodstock's relaxing there.

Brian, that's a really nice job on the beach scene -- there's a great range of values and textures!

Ok, one cat sketch coming up. Its a speed job, so my apologies in advance, but I loved the shape of the head on this one, very appealing.

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Thanks ncgirl, Jeanette, and Ernest, that means a lot to me, you all inspire me very much. Miss Jeanette it is so great to see you participating again in these challenges, love your drawing.

NCgirl, I enjoyed participating in this challenge, your reference photos were fresh and fun, hope you will host again soon.Thank you.

just a digital draw...

Thanks danielgutiny - love the colors!

Thanks Jeanette - it is a wonderful drawing of the last photo that I got of HodgePodge - I must say it's heartwarming to me to see so many renderings of him. Thanks also for the advice on drawing pencils and battery erasers (first time I've heard of them!). I'm probably going to spend a good part of the weekend on the internet with a smoking credit card.

Thanks Elena! I had a bumpy start - but it seems to have worked out ok! I did learn a good lesson: Not to bother uploading pictures on rinky-dinky dial-up system I have at home when I can go to work where there are five huge broadband servers waiting for me.

I plan to sign up on the next opportunity, this is fun!

We have to head east now to go to a "new kitty" party for a friend (you bring catnip instead of wine) One more note before I sign off, though.

Thanks to all who participated. It has been a pleasure hosting this week. I am now inspired to chime in on more drawing challenges - there are so many different possibilities! I appreciate the patience of everyone during my rocky start as a host. Hope to do this again soon! Have a great weekend everybody, go out and draw something!

Sandra