Conte Tonight !!

Tonight we get to play with our crayons!! I had never used Conte crayon before, so I had no idea what they were. They're made from clay and pigment and baked in a kiln so they're hard (and breakable). Not only that - they're square - not round like you would normally think a crayon to be. They come in a limited range of colors - black, white, sanguine (like sepia) and bisque (varying shades of brown). I suppose there are probably more colors out there, somewhere, but I haven't seen them, yet. Anyway, tonight we are going to work in texture and shading and we're going to use the Conte crayons in the exercise. And the brown paper which was listed in our course supplies. Why we wouldn't use white paper is a little lost on me, but I'm sure Marilyn will make her reasoning clear. She always does.

I have found the neatest web site. It is www.drawspace.com. There are many, many lessons in drawing and sketching there for one to work through - at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. The cost to join the site is low (20 bucks for 3 months) and during the time you are a member you can see and download any and/or all of the lesson on the site. And they are GOOD!!. I have downloaded all of the lessons and I have them on my 4gig TravelDrive my kids bought me for Christmas. When I am done with this course I am going to go through the Brenda Hoddinott (she created the site) lessons, one at a time, to enhance and sharpen my skills. At least, that's the plan.