03/02/2026
I taught a small group of adult learners a basic instruction in how to illustrate; with pencils in hand and items from nature we enjoyed a 2-hour workshop this past Saturday.
Nature.... which do you think was more difficult to draw? 1. Beach stones. 2. Dried hydrangea blossoms. 3. Pine branches.4. Sea shell.
There is a process to learning how to draw with graphite pencils.
Often as we go through the world we see objects and easily can categorize things as: "that is a tree", or "that is a table"... and so on.
However, when you begin to use your mind and your creativity to really take in a longer look at something, especially in order to conceptualize it on a 2d surface, it becomes apparent that seeing is something very different when you set out to draw an illustration.
So we had a really fun journey learning to use a wide range of graphite pencils, while also connecting with each student's personal successes and challenges in that process.
The answer to the question for my class on Saturday was the rock!
illustrating the rock was more challenging because it has no defined edges and as you try to define it, it looks like you're drawing a circle on the paper. There's subtlety in the shadows and the geographic formations within the rock where the importance of subtlety in contrast between light and dark brings that object out into an apparent 3D form.
