Draw a Peach

After several failed attempts to draw peaches, these finally made it to the page. The others were so attractively arranged that they were snapped up for snacks and dessert. I was greatly inspired by several other members of the group who posted peaches this week. These are my contribution, aiming at a little drama with the peach edges in pure color.

Fascinated by the Light

This architectural detail changes color as the light in the lobby changes. The shapes at upper left are from a clerestory window that drops light from above. The material of the wall and pillar are warm reddish Sedona stone.

I drew this with blue ballpoint pen and then added color later with Prismacolor pencil. This is also Challenge #29: Something Architectural.

Hand at Rest

This hand is from a portrait I did a while back. It's one example of a hand at rest. Seems much easier to draw a relaxed draped hand, especially since her rings help to create a dimensional effect. Anything like watches, rings, etc. help with hands and wrists. Drawing sandals on feet helps to define feet shapes too, I find.

Challenge #10 Another Hand

While I'm on the subject of working hands, might as well investigate a few more. There seem to be more planes in the human hand than you usually think about. It is very adaptable, but still is limited to a certain number of planes of motion.


Shading helps establish this, and also wrinkles at bending points and greater emphasis on a line in an area under greater force. Should have added some shading to the object the hand is holding.

EDM #7 Blue Luna Latte Bottle

I love this bottle, partly because I've rarely met a blue bottle I don't love. This one was given to me, and is a "favorite thing." It has held chopsticks or skewers by the stove, brushes during artwork, ivy, etc. Today it serves as my excuse to draw loose.

The light letters on the bottle were done, somewhat unsuccessfully, by inscribing them deeply with a Berol Verithin white pencil and then scribbling over the top with dark colors. This technique can be lots of fun when drawing rugs, scarves and other things with intricate patterns.

EDM Challenge #4

Draw your mug or cup. This cup arrived one Christmas full of See's candy. It's still one of those mugs with a cozy feel. It works for coffee, but is also nice for Chai or Yerba Mate. I still think rims - of cups, cans, wine glasses, tubs, etc. are one of the hardest things. The thinner the wall is, the harder to draw. I've read some things about it being an elliptical shape, and how the back half is a different shape than the front due to foreshortening, etc. But for me it's more a feeling that I still haven't gotten it yet. Part of the problem is the shadow that goes down inside the cup being convincing. Of course that means just draw more rims.