Jig-Saw Puzzle Pieces..365 Days of Drawing

I am calling this "Forget-Me-Not". Yesterday's drawing that I turned into paint. I wanted to keep my light and shadow shape distinct and separate.

I post three stages of the sketch. The drawing, which meets the daily challenge, the block-in of the light, and the finish.

One thing I see as a teacher is that students don't think of big mass shapes when blocking in a sketch but 'noodle' areas breaking up form and overall value pattern, causing unsightly dents in a face, figure or apple. Wrong value in the wrong place. It was a big step forward for me in my painting and drawing when I started to think of light and shadow being like jig-saw puzzle pieces that lock together. The value choice has to fit and lock in place, just like a puzzle piece.

On this sketch, the shadow side of the face was quite light in value and mainly falling through the middle of the face. I had to work carefully to make sure I didn't go too dark in value but dark enough to make the light shape read with hopefully an overall delicate feeling of light.

"Forget Me Not"

8 x 10"