Lessons in Classical Drawing- Juliette Aristedes

Petite Urn #1
6 x 8
Oil Painting by Pat Fiorello

A couple of years ago I had started doing a small series of urns to familiarize myself with their shapes and how light wraps around them for inclusion in future, larger paintings. I absolutely love urns and have lots of real examples I use for still life set -ups as well as my own reference photo's of a wide variety of shapes. This was the first one I did in the series and I can now see some of the perspective is off in the stand ( or maybe the photo is tilted? :)

 Urns typically have symmetrical and often complex shapes, so they pose a real drawing challenge compared to more natural elements like flowers or trees, where you can be off a bit and not have it be so noticeable or distracting.

 I decided one of my goals for this year is to build my drawing skills further, so that tackling these types subjects would become easier. Honestly I love to paint but don't have the same passion for drawing. I have always had the attitude that drawing was a "necessary evil" in order to paint. I just want to get  going with the brush and paint, not slow down and draw. But if I am honest with myself, probably the one area that would elevate my art the most would be building my drawing skills and confidence, so I'm biting the bullet and hoping I will learn to love it as much as painting.

I am currently reading "Lessons in Classical Drawing" by Juliette Aristedes. I just stumbled upon in on Amazon a few weeks back.   I think it is a relatively new book, but I am really enjoying it and finding it very instructive.
 I've committed to myself to read one chapter and do the corresponding exercise each week. I'm about halfway thru the book, but wanted to share it now as I would highly recommend it just on what' I've seen so far.

 It also comes with a DVD  tucked in the back of the book jacket.  Is very well done, upbeat and inspiring and shows Juliette demonstrating her suggested approach- which really helps a lot.  It's one thing to read about drawing but another to actually see someone do it. There are some tried and true drawing books out there like "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards and several others, but I have a feeling this book will quickly become a classic in it's own right. Even though I've been drawing and painting for nearly 2 decades, there are things I picked up that are helping me already.  Great job Juliette! Thanks for sharing and inspiring your fellow artists and students!