Parallel Lines

Yesterday evening I worked on Exercises 2A and 2B of Bert Dodson's "Keys to Drawing". Because I was infatuated with the crosshatching technique, it was no surprise that I copied and emulated Giorgio Morandi. Yuck! The results were so bad that I was too embarrassed to post them. And that was after a whole afternoon of frustrating (supposed-to-be-easy) flat wash exercise from Jack Reid's "Watercolor Basics: Let's Get Started".

Today an excellent book showed up at our door step: "Drawing in Pen & Ink" by Claudia Nice. Unlike other pen drawing books on my bookshelves, she explains every stroking technique in detail and shows her readers when one technique should be applied. Now I know why I failed miserably on Exercise 2B: I applied too many techniques without knowing why and how. This book is a godsend!

Media: pencil, technical pen.