Drawing Class

For our first class, using charcoal on huge newsprint paper, we were asked to draw from a painting on a post card. I picked this lady becasue i liked the lines on her body. It was tough getting the right proportions and to actually get her to tilt her hips in the drawing. My teacher told me to find the imaginary lines on the lady's shoulders and hips and to bring that out in my drawing. I learned that i should pay more attention to larger shapes than details to get the closest contour and form. I constantly had to remind myself to keep my charcoal moving on my pad or else it meant that i was paying attention to detail instead of the larger shapes. . It took me 45 minutes to do this. I got tired after. We were told that drawing takes lots of practice. We were recommended to draw an apple a day. For our home work we were asked to draw our self portrait. I read in a book that to get good at drawing, I have to practice for an hour or two daily. The great thing is, DRAWING CAN BE LEARNED!