Sketching Dry and layering it with Wet

The lesson worked on today is to sketch a chosen subject and incorporate values of black to white using your tools...mine was a pencil. For the white areas, I left the paper as is with no marks. The intent was multi-fold:

1. To determine light source and use light and shadow to show it.
2. To use different kinds of mark-making to achieve gradations of shadow areas.
3. To use contrast to clarify form where needed.

With the finished sketch, the next step was to layer the values of black to white paint over the sketch. I used acrylics.

What I learned is that mark-making can be used very effectively in a variety of ways, though it is messy--even the paper gets dirty as you can see. The transformation to a painted piece was so well worth it. This one is bold, intense and soft all at once, from my point of view. What are your thoughts?

I'm happy with the learning. It continues to take time to 'see' various light and shadow interactions, and I know that will improve with time. In the meantime, I know I'm getting better at it!

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