At the end of the year its good to look back and reflect on what you've achieved and how you've learned. Art is no different.

I'm inviting you to post ONE drawing that you consider to be the best that you did in 2008 and to say a few words about why you think its good, what you learned doing it, etc.

I'll start with this one, even if I have several favourites from 2008. This is called Ryan's Gate and was done in February 2008. Its the old gateway to a hayfield locally and I froze myself getting some good photos of it in the snow.

This was my first foray into silverpoint, an old technique that existed prior to the invention of graphite and was used extensively by the old masters such as Da Vinci. It consists of etching marks onto a prepared gesso ground with a sterling silver point. It was time consuming and erasing wasn't an option - rather similar to pen and ink. I loved the process and the history that went with it, I felt like I was walking in the footsteps of the masters from hundreds of years ago.


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It was hard to choose just one piece but I think this is it. I consider it my best piece of the year because:

• I feel pleased with my progress in getting the layout "right"
• I see opportunity to improve my tones/shading
• The subject is important to me (this is my family's sponsored child through Worldvision)

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Indeed, it's hard to choose. I'm still new at this, so I'm learning and growing all the time. This is perhaps the most refined work I produced this year, and it's on that basis that I chose it. It represents over 15 hours of work and was my first commissioned piece. I think a lot of things came together for this: the composition, the light, the mood. I executed this with a lot of confidence and it worked out. One thing that's special about it is that I made some changes to the reference; in particular, I "fixed" the younger girl's bad haircut, on the mother's request.

First it's hard to decide the medium in which I acquired excellency in the past year, actually my first year of serious drawing, next i thought it would be fair to consider my best work according to the comments received in my gallery. I have works with 23 comments for instance.
Yet I concluded that i have a work that was an achievement at the time in terms of drawing in graphite. Here it is.
Jicarrilla cowboy


This work was produced in May, so two months after starting value drawing and precisely the values in this drawing are well performed and with only one pencil, #2 HB.

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Not sure if it is my best, but it is my favorite.
I was learning to work with black paper. It is ATC size, done with CP.

I feel this was my best portrait done in 2008. It was from a drawing challenge hosted by Ernest Friedman-Hill. The woman in the reference photo had a slightly different expression, but I was satisfied enough to capture some emotion from it.

This was my 5th portrait with charcoal and I think one of the best, or at least my favorite. The textures and range of tonal values were a lot of fun.
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Ernest, I realy love this piece. The shading is beutiful and you can almost feel the various textures.

That's awesome! You make an amazingly realistic portrait! What size piece it this?

Very nice. you can almost catch a chill looking at it.

Hi thanks so much! It is 8 1/2 x 12 1/2 inches on archers heavy weight printmakers paper.

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Very hard to choose my favorite drawing of the year but for me the portraits I am most proud of is this one which was a commision work. I love draw young children and I am really happy with the eyes on this beautiful little girl

Very cute, Kev

My favourite of mine for 2008 has to be little Andy. I really enjoyed drawing him and he was my first baby portrait, so I was so pleased he turned out so well

This was not easy but I like the details in this one and also I was very pleased with the hair and shading.

I think this has to be my favorite from 2008 . I enjoyed working on this one the most.

I just realized that I've not completed ONE drawing this year. Sheesh. Got a bunch of pencils and good paper at the beginning of the year. Forgot to order the excuse eraser and procrastination blocker. Need a can of persistence fixative. I guess one thing I have done is become very inspired and hopefully motivated others to draw.

Here's to a productive 2009.

Tony

There's been some great work and inspiring progress in 2008. Good work y'all !
I got back into drawing kinda late this year, and didn't get a whole lot done. But this drawing is the first one I drew from life outside. Quite new from all the doodling and cartoons I used to do during college.

Here's my favorite one I've done. Quite hard to choose between this one and the rowboat one. All in all I've done more drawings this year than any other. My sketchbook,which I started a year and a half ago, is over half full. Compared to my last one took 10 years . Going to try do even more this year. I find myself wasting time reading about drawing instead of doing it. You can always learn more by doing. Have to keep telling myself that.

This is not my best picture of the year, certainly not even close to being anything worth commenting on. However, I'm posting it because it's my husband's favorite picture of 2008 - he has titled it "Zombie Snowman" and smiles every time he looks at it. It is also my first time working with Sharpie and scratch paper, two new medium for me. I did learn that with Sharpies, there is no looking back, the line you put down is the one you live with!

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Beautiful artwork everyone!! For me I would have to say my favorite was my "I Take Thee" colored pencil drawing. I felt a huge accomplishment after I finally finished. Not to mention I started over 4 times prior to the finished piece.

All of you are very accomplished artists. I admire all of your work. I guess for me, I would say this would be my favorite




It was done in color pencil on mat board. This was my first real attempt. I hope this year to do more colored pencil or pastel.

Regards,
Gilbert

Although, due to circumstances beyond my control, I never did get it finished, I think this is my favorite 2008.
Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd..

wow..some nice work here you guys..i tried so many different mediums and learned so much about each in 08 that it was hard for me to choose my fav but i chose the charcoal drawings because the very first time i tried charcoal i HATED it. and put the pencils away for years..guess i wasnt ready for it then..but here in 08 i tried them again and my whole experience was so much different than the first and i now love charcoal...especially the colored charcoal.. so here are the drawings i chose..they were drawn from barmaks photos. i chose two because they are of the same subject

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Wow another great thread Jeanette, such talent going on this past year,

I kind of like this one I did....it is one of Billy De Becks characters, a simple and quick drawing, yet I tried to incorporate my own sketchy style and shading when drawing this with Graphite. I really think it does look like it's right out of the comic pages as Cyn commented in my gallery.

I think my favourite has been the Retreiver - probably because I love retreivers. I feel I'm betraying my wee collie Dusty by saying that. Our last dog was a retreiver/ collie cross who looked like a retreiver and when we lost him we saw this advert for retreiver/ collie cross pups. When we saw them, Dusty immediately adopted my late husband. She is much more collie than anything else. Still have soft spot for retreivers!

Bobby your picture is awesome. If I touched the screen I bet I could feel her pulse.

Wow, your pictures are really masterpieces! I getting little jealous now..

Mine favourite... It may not be the best since 2008 was the year I learned very much and gets better.
But this was the one of them I really like. Colors in mixed tools like rainbows, I saw some at deviantart and then I got inspired.
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This was made in watercolor ink and promarkers

Great drawings every one! I have done a few pieces that i was happy with, and although this did not get the attetion I expected, it's still my fav for las year, let me know what you guys think!!

Thank you Jeanette for such a nice topic,

wow what lovely work has been posted here, congratulations everyone

I had a hard time to choose what I considered my best work, for in every peace I did, I feel its not quite as good as it should or could be, but I decided to choose my coloured pencil tiger, I really enjoyed doing this one, and its very diferent from what i am used to do.


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