Last week’s lesson turned out to be a surprise due to last minute events! We drew individual flowers plucked from the Cafe bouquets. We covered structure, gesture, and contour.
Jane Barlowe’s quick flower study
Tip for structure: to connect the stem to the flower head, draw the connection right through the area where it is visually blocked by the petals in order to make sure that the stem connects to the center of the blossom.
The Natural Way to Draw , first published in 1938, has detailed descriptions of contour and gesture drawing. Or search on Google for information about how to understand and practice these classic exercises.
Our lesson on figure drawing and proportion inspired Janet Seaburg: 
While watching her grandchildren on the shores of Lake Champlain, she put together this delightful example showing proportion in much the same way that we showed it in pencil. She used black matte stones that had washed in from the Adirondack palisades and she glued them to a gray rock.