My “getting the ducks in a row” for the OCA course continues.

The lunchtime reading has moved on to Juliette Aristides’ Lessons in Classical Drawing. The quality of the finished drawings she produces is amazing and yet she holds out the hope that anyone can learn to draw that well.  It makes me think that I can do this!

I’ve also been spending time on the OCA website, looking at other students who are doing the Drawing 1 course, blazing a trail out in front of me.  A lot of them have their learning logs set up set up as blogs and some of these, the ones I feel a resonance with, I’ve listed in the sidebar.  Watching folk develop, looking at the level of skill being shown is very inspiring.  And humbling as they fit the work of the course around their daily lives.

Finally I’ve been contemplating very very basic questions, such as “How are you supposed to hold a pencil?” The DVD that comes with the Aristides book is pretty good for this, as you are watching people produce drawings, rather than just looking at the finished version, or staged, versions.  You can see how they hold the pencil, how tentative their intial marks are, how images are built up.

But also: YouTube! You-flippin’-tube!  I looked up drawing lessons and found loads!  A good backup.