Hi Everyone

Welcome to this last instalment of the blog before Christmas. This month’s task was not easy but lots of you managed to pull it off with aplomb. Well done to all those who entered  :-).

I have decided That this months winner is Jaycee Cheong with the beautiful painting of the boots below.  Now,  I realise that it is kind of in black and white and I said no black and white but it was my favourite from the entries and so I had to go with it.  Also I think we could get away with calling it sepia as there is definitely a warmth to the colour. Jaycee you win a drawing workshop of your choice for 2017! Yippee!!

I love all the detail in the laces and stitching and the simple symmetrical composition. There is also very high contrast, the darks being very dark and the lights being very light. I mostly love the energy in the drawing, the fact that it’s not too carefully done but is full of vitality and enthusiasm.  I also love that  the texture of the water soluble pastels is allowed to show through where water has been added.

Two  of my other favourites are below …

By Johnathan Cross

I like that Johnathan chose a branded trainer and paired it with his little girl’s bar shoe. Its a cute combination and feels contemporary and relevant to our lives now . Also  I know that it was done in oil pastel which I can imagine would be a very difficult material for this exercise as you can not blend it at all.

 

By Carolyn Robertson 

I thought this drawing showed a lot of sensitivity and skill. There is a lot of detail around the laces and the shading manages to be both  subtle and quite strong which is a difficult combination. Also, the shoes themselves have character somehow and are arranged nicely which gives for a good composition.

---

That’s it for 2017 folks. I would just like to say thank you to everyone who has entered these competitions and watched the videos it has been a pleasure watching the entries come in every month.

 I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year.

Love from Rosa