Two views of a log

In preparation for the first assignment, I went looking for some "natural forms" that would fit a composition, and discovered this log. It has some broken bark on it, and it was also small enough to fit into a rucksack.

I had to attempts at it, first just with pencil. But I felt it needed something more to bring out the various elements, so I just added a little bit of colour for the bark.

I then had another go using a mix of graphite pencil and then with charcoal which I applied a bit more freely to see if that improved things. On the whole, I think I prefer the more detailed first one, with the colour added.