Plants, it seems, would always be a good subject for sketching.
They don’t squirm, change expression, or walk away.
As I looked through these sketches, though, I notice distinct differences.
When I am drawing plants as a part of a landscape or a larger picture, my marks are tentative and sketchy.
When my subject is an individual plant, there is greater confidence in my line quality, and even in the clearer distribution of shadows.
When I first started taking drawing classes, I was totally inhibited by the large (18″x24″) paper. My drawings were small, centrally located things, shying away from those distant edges. But, with practice, I learned to “see” larger, and to draw right to and beyond the edges of the paper. I still draw beyond the borders, but with time and space constraints, my drawings have gotten much smaller
I do most of my sketching inside, and most of my subjects are small.
Clearly, that is where my strength lies, at this time.
