Hi to everyone. As kindly requested by Cindy, I'm going to share with this forum my last work (see attachment), which I would have never done, was it for me. But I owe Cindy the joy I feel when I draw, now that she taught me how to, so I overcome my shyness just for her. I guess she wants me to share with others how I went from being "shade blinded" (as I defined myself before the shading class) to the present level.

Before the course I had this problems:
1- I couldn't recognize properly the spectrum of shades in an object: I could see were dark and light were, but couldn't produce a value map at all
2- I ignored elementary things like the difference between an HB and a 2B pencil and the meaning of "putty back"
3- As a consequence, I didn't know how to obtain effects needed to produce what I wanted (mostly, 3D effect)
4- Also, I tended to draw exactly what I saw instead of what it is useful in order to produce a particular effect (3D, textures, etc)
5- Because of this, my love for drawing used to stop as soon as I finished the outline (which I had the bless to be quite good at): then the frustration of not being able to shade made me lose patience, draw in haste and, perfect example of a self-fulfilled prophecy, produced quite a disaster (flat faces, shades in the wrong place, uneven shades, the compulsion to shade every square inch of the sheet)

Then Cindy appeared. Now:
1- I don't think I'm able to produce a good value map, but I have this strange feeling of knowing by instinct if a shade is correct or not, to see what I was unable to
2- I do know what different pencils are and what they are used for. I even thought to give a personal name to my 2B, because she's my best friends. She's so versatile. And I do know how putty back is fundamental for a good drawing
3- Though I need to study and practice still much more, at least I have a rough idea of how to obtain what I need
4- Though this is not taught explicitly (at least this seems to me) I understood you have to dissociate what you see from what you draw when it comes to make something real for the eyes. In one word, you have to render the object, not to slavishly reproduce it (think to the shoe laces). Naive as it may seems, for me it was a deep insight that turned something in my brain on
5- Sometimes I'm still dissatisfied when I draw because I need to redo many many times the same thing until I get it how I want (I spent half of the entire time just for the front part of the shoes, which I'm not completely happy with). But because now I know I have the skills to reach a decent result, I take it easy and go on slowly enjoying the trip. And when it comes to shade that parts that go from 3/4 level tone down to 1 and then pure white, I put on Mozart K545 or the likes and feel in heaven. Maybe I'm wrong and presumptuous, but I think this is the thing I do better, as a reflection of the love I have for it. The only way I know to express this, is to quote the movie Samsara:
"How will you stop a drop of water from ever drying up?” - “By throwing it into the ocean.” This sense of wholeness obtained through dissolving levels by levels into "no level" (speckled effect?) is what make me feel so good. (someone should write “Zen and the art of drawing”, lol).

How I went from A to B? Was it me? Was it Cindy? When I was a child I did a game in my mind thinking what is more important to live, if brain or heart. Heartbeat is commanded by the brain, which is also infinitely more sophisticated then heart (a mere pump with four valves). But the humble job of the heart (and liver, lungs, etc) is vital for the brain. My conclusion was that they were equally important regardless their different level of sophistication.
The same is for a teacher and a student. A good teacher can't make a good artist out of negligent student and a bad teacher will prevent a good student from expressing it's whole talent.
Cindy is a gorgeous teacher:
1- She's knows. This seems obvious, but many persons have the impudence to turn themselves into a teacher with poor knowledge of what they teach
2- She knows how to teach. This is even more important for a student. Being good at something does not equal being good at knowing how to make clear things for the audience. I guess everyone had a direct experience in school: clever teachers poor at teaching. Cindy applies "divide et impera" logic to everything and guides you step by step from outline to something you see and wonder: "Did I really did this?"
3- She's passionate. This too is fundamental, because to learn needs truth from the other side. If the teacher gives you the impression (even if you don't clearly realize it) that she doesn't really like what she do, that she teaches just for the money, that while she teaches she's thinking about the holydays instead of being there with you, this will affect the emotional links between her and you. I'm not sure this could be applied to any teaching, but here we're talking about art, and arts is an expression of feelings. So if the teacher is absent-minded because she has no passion, then she omits to pass you 50% of what you need
4- She's patient, never condemns, always spends a good word and I guess (I should compare the approach with other students to be sure) she has the ability to adapt herself to the student, understanding their peculiar weak points and the best way to reach their mind/heart

After Cindy hagiography, it's time to say how I was able to take advantage of her teachings.
1- I blindly trusted her. This may not seems a merit, since it again depends on Cindy's ability to make you feel comfortable. But when you find the right person, you need to abandon yourself and your bad thoughts and let him/her guide you. This require a bit of courage and consciousness
2- I never gave up. You have to insist patiently until you reach the result. As Edison used to say on the way to invent the light bulb, "I just invented a new way not to produce a functioning light bulb" (bad translation from Italian, sorry)
3- I experimented and tried to adapt Cindy's teachings to my way of drawing. I'm not sure this is completely good. Mostly with an online course, where the teacher can't watch directly what you do, I guess there's the risk you develop bad habits... But if you don't go too far, experiments let you find the right way. It's no sense insisting doing always the same way and then lamenting for the lack of improvements (this indeed applies to our life also: we do the same errors, come up with the same bad results and then start over... human beings are a bit strange!)

Besides the delirium of my words, I hope this could help someone as in Cindy’s hopes.
Dan

Great shoe, Dan! You've obviously had a wonderful journey with Cindy and learnt so much. It was so good to read about your evolution as an artist. I agree that Cindy is the BEST of teachers. I've just completed the first stage of my shoe, so still have a way to go. But I know if I just keep showing up at the table, I'll get there.

Now that you've broken the ice, don't be a stranger - it would be great to see your next masterpiece.

Dan, your shoe is absolutely brilliant!! It is really is a standout piece. I think "smooth"," polished"well done!

I applaud you for finding the words to accurately convey what is true about Cindy and her methods of teaching! I concur with everything you've so eloquently stated!

Dan,

Your shoe drawing is an absolute masterpiece! I'm working on my shoe drawing right now so I can truly appreciate every little detail and am so inspired by your work.

As for Cindy's teaching style, I agree with everything you've said. When I signed up for my first class I did so based on the positive feedback here in the forums from Tannis and a few others and the gorgeous drawings they had posted. But, I was not at all sure that I would be able to achieve the same results in an online class. I'm a complete believer now and have just registered for the rest of her certificate course. I haven't quite gone from A to B yet, but with Cindy's guidance, I'm sure I'll get there!

Dan,
I've read your experience a couple of times now- and so appreciate you sharing this. Your shoe rendering is AWESOME! I'm still in unit one and have committed to the year long course with Cindy simply because I have gotten so much from her teaching style. I've learned more in the past 5 weeks than I ever thought possible. You were able to beautifully articulate your experience in words. Thank you!
Pam (and I sign my name PAMO- the nickname my husband gave me)

Dan, congratulations for you English!!
Thank you for the detailed explaination.

Before joining the class I sent a message to Cindy and after her answer I had the feeling that she was exactely the way you are describing her (as a teacher of couse), this make me feel even more anxious to begin this venture... HOW CAN I WAIT TILL THE 29th???


Since I have started to draw recently, reading various books, I'm just afraid to already have too many bad habits... let's see if I can loose them easily.

Cheers


Ah.. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only Italian aboard