5b: Drawing Leaves From Observation

As an artist, it is a very important, yet challenging skill to draw from observation. I discussed with the students what drawing from observation is, drawing what is right in front of you, not from memory or a photograph. Since it is the beautiful time of year, fall, we used the fall leaves to draw. The students chose four or five leaves and cut them in half right down the middle. We talked about how leaves are usually have symmetrical sides, so  the students were trying to draw the other half of the leave matching the best they could. I think some of these really turned out interesting. The students quickly learned how challenging it is to draw from observation, trying to get every curve and edge of the leaf.