Shading Exercise Update

It's taken much longer than I anticipated but I finished my second shading exercise. This time I wanted to compare the two pencil sets I have. On the right are the two done with Derwent pencils, a set of H - 9B; on the left I used Faber-Castell, a 6H, a 5H and a set of 2H - 8B. This is not a sponsored post. I have mostly used my Faber-Castell pencils, I was given the Derwent pencils but over all I prefer the F-C and that was reaffirmed in this exercise. I generally prefer H/hard pencils to B/soft pencils. I really like the smoothness of the F-C pencils.
As for the exercise itself, practice makes perfect, I'd like to do one more, this time I want to make it as clean and crisp as possible.

Drawing excercises

I've set my sights on some new goals as an artist and what I'd like to achieve will require me to up my game. I've really worked at a lot of things over the years but drawing and other art "fundamentals" if you will, have slipped, so I'm making yet another effort to improve my drawing skills.
This is a very simple and unexciting exercise, I remember doing in on in my first high school art class, possibly in middle school as well. I remember being satisfied with my efforts in high school but it's been a long time. In middle school I used one pencil (usually a .5 mechanical pencil) to achieve the full range of values. I was introduced to the idea of using a range of pencils (hard to soft) to achieve the same effect, I became more aware of the range of papers available and how not to abuse them as I drew.
What I'm taking a long time to say is that I'm still getting used to the idea and process of using a whole range of drawing pencils to create my range of values. I should be much better at this by now but I've never put the work in. Hopefully I can do that and stick with it this time.
Here's my first attempt.

I'll do better on the next one.

Tools of the Trade

I was working out a new design and I was reminded of how helpful colored pencils are. One grid can begin endless designs so until you're very familiar with the based pattern, it's to mark out your design so you don't forget. You can work with the colors you intend to use and see how they work or you can just use random colors.

Precision and Perfection

I've read or been taught that in Islamic art and designs, the artist or craftsman will make a mistake or a flaw in the design on purpose because only Alah\God is perfect. I am not anywhere skilled enough yet to need to include a flaw on purpose.

I generally need a lot more precision in my work and the above image is a perfect example of this. I started drawing this new design and I was a little off, I should have fixed things then but I went forward hoping for the best. I got so far off that I couldn't even complete what I was doing and it was a lot worse to try and fix.
I can still pull something out of this jumble but it won't be what I was hoping for.
Learn frommy folly! I will try and learn as well.

The Process

I've been working on a new painting, I haven't actually started painting it yet but a lot of work has gone into it already.

It starts off in the sketch book, I try different things to see what might work and what doesn't. The next phase is to make a study, I haven't always done this but I'm trying to get better at it rather than winging it as much. Anyway in the study I draw out what I think the painting will or should look like and use colored pencil to give and idea of the colors I want and what they might look like. Things might change from the study to the painting. Drawing out the painting is the final step before painting.

Arches

I want to take a moment to say how wonderful Arches paper (pronounced arsh, it's French) is. Arches is fantastic watercolor paper, it's such a high quality, it's the best I've used, though I imagine there might be a few other brands better. Good quality paper makes it possible to make better paintings, there's a reason that they've been in business for centuries. Thank you Arches, for beautiful paper and a quality product!

A visit to the Met

Fortuitous circumstances introduced me to this video today and I had to share it! So apparently the Metropolitan Museum of Art undertook to create a facsimile of a Moroccan courtyard. I really hope I get a chance to see this space in person. Back to the video, I love all this video says about craftsmanship, I feel like in many ways craftsmanship has fallen by the wayside here, but clearly there is great worth in craftsmanship.