The First Class

Last week, was the first class. Was I scared? Was I anxious? That's debatable. Although I would call myself an artist, I haven't actually drawn anything in a while. Nowadays, I find myself more comfortable with a paintbrush in hand. Even then, I find myself taking a more illustrative approach to my work. When we were told that we would have to render realistically, I took a gulp. 
 
But, I''m getting ahead of myself. We started with talking about field research, keeping detailed notes, and signing and dating everything (especially in pen). From there, we started talking about the different shading techniques. Then came the packet.
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After awhile, this got tedious. This is where the fun began. To really test our skills, we were sent outdoors, and were told to render whatever piece of nature we got with the shading techniques about. Naturally, I went for a croton leaf in front of Student Resources (SR). 

A croton, scientifically known as Codiaeum variegatum, is also known as a rushfoil plant. It is a perennial evergreen shrub characterized by its bright colors including reds, greens, oranges, and yellows. It thrives in sun and warmer climates, so it is best grown in south and central Florida. However, this tropical plant is not native here. It is actually native to India and Malaysia. They also have a sap that excretes from the stem that apparently stains. I'm glad I avoided that. It also is not an edible plant. Here is a picture of the leaf I selected.

After getting to this point, I wasn't happy with the progress I was making. I wasn't feeling the best at the moment of this drawing. Sometimes, you have to start again, and see if you can do better, and so I did. I chose another croton patch that was a bit smaller closer to SR, and found the perfect leaf.

Doing so can give you better results than you ever hoped for. The final product was a croton leaf measuring in 7.3025 cm. What can I say? I'm proud of myself. 
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