Just before half term I emailed all my learners for feedback on what went well for them in classes, and what areas could do with re visiting, or could do with altering or adding to.

All reply emails are confidential, but one theme cropped up throughout, apart from the mainly positive things, and this was a desire to re -visit basics.

With this in mind, and to accommodate my learners who are confident with basics, I gave my tuesday drawing class this lake-landscape to draw with the object of gauging proportions, and tone.

I chose a mountain range as an easier object than say a face, as it was less important to have it 100% accurate.

My learners started by demonstrating to me their understanding of transferring measurements from photocopy to drawing paper, after a brief reminder.

Then I asked them to cut the photocopy in half, stick 1 half down, and outline the contents of the other side with proportions transferred from it.

Then after they had completed a quick gradation strip from dark to light as a separate warming up exercise, they blocked in the various tones of the lakeland scene to match the half of the photocopy stuck down.

I asked them to carry out this exercise upside down, ( no! Not the learners, the scene! )... so they would not be distracted by readable detail, so they could concentrate on seeing the overall tone