Flower Drawing Class at the Norton Simon Museum of Art

On Friday I attended a flower drawing class taught by artist Jamie Sweetman.  I love drawing and painting flowers, so I was really looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint.  I'm usually very fond of my eraser, but for these classes, I've been trying to go without it.

She started by doing a demo about basic shapes, suggesting that loose ellipsis shapes are very helpful for drawing flowers.  The iris was actually the last flower I drew, but since I ran out of time and didn't finish it, I've decided to share it unfinished.  You can see areas where I've lightly blocked in some of the basic shapes for proportion so that when I went into more detail, the basic form would be correct.  This was based off of a fake flower she had brought in, that I didn't manage to photograph at quite the angle I drew it at...

We started the class in the garden of the museum, but when we lost the light, we went inside.  I chose to sketch some lilies in the garden.  She suggested in starting out that to warm up, we should start with the buds, since they had simpler forms, before moving on to the open flowers.  I think the buds were quite beautiful.

She suggested choosing subjects to draw that would make you feel good.  Ones that would challenge you but not be so difficult that you would give up on them.

To draw the forms she also suggested to look at the negative space, the space between the objects you are sketching, to see the form and proportional relationships.  She also said that if you'd like you may use a viewfinder, a rectangular form either created with your fingers or one of paper to help determine composition.

She said that drawing is like a sport, practice is very important.  It's also key to relax and focus at the same time and not worry about what it looks like, just get into it.  She suggest doing a lot of drawing to analyze forms and to do throwaway/practice drawings.

I know I sometimes forget to draw just for the fun and practice of it, but it really is a wonderful way to spend an evening!

This was my third class with her, the final one is next Friday.  To read about the Still Life Drawing Class, visit here and to read about the Animal Drawing Class, visit here.


To view more Sunday Sketches, please visit:
http://www.bluechairdiaryillustrations.com/

I am also linking this post with Inspire Me Monday
http://www.create-with-joy.com/