Basic Drawing I Class

I am into the fourth week of the Basic Drawing I class I am teaching at the AoA Gallery (Arts of The Albemarle), and having a great time! I thought I'd take a pic of my students drawing their first "test". The purpose for this "test" was for them to put into play all the things they were taught in the first two classes, namely values, shape, and form.

You can't see the subject they are drawing in the above photo very well, but it is a drapery test. I hung a piece of white material on a 30" x 40" foam board that I placed on my easel so they had a good view of it. It is a simple drapery subject. You should have seen what they had to draw at the end of the class - an inert mass!! I threw a large white piece of material over a chair that I had placed on top of a table, making sure it draped nicely down the chair and onto the table in a variety of folds. Then I said, "Okay, draw it!" A couple of the students hated me ..... until the end of the class when they looked at what they did and realized they really could do it! Plus they said they DID learn a lot from it, so in the end they were glad I made them draw it. I'm glad. I would be very sad if my students hated me. :p

Next week they are going to learn about the different types of lighting. I hope I don't forget to take some pics to post for you here. It ought to be a lot of fun! I'll see if I can get some pics of their drapery drawings too. They did a great job!!! I'm very proud of their work!