Autumn leaves

Okay. So I didn't complete the 30 in 30 challenge. But I did learn some stuff from it. I learned that it's ok to commit to something and not be able to accomplish it. I'm not beating myself up over it. I made a bet of a glass of wine with a sketching friend and neither of us completed 30 paintings. So we'll buy each other a glass of wine next time we're together. Another thing I learned is that it is very hard to keep the freshness in a painting when working from a sketch in my sketchbook. The sketches are always so much more lively and spontaneous. I want to learn how to make that happen in my paintings. Anyway, I've moved on and today as I was at work with little to do, I walked outside, gathered some fallen leaves and brought them in to my desk to sketch. All I had with me was a very small Moleskine sketchbook and a #2 pencil so that's what I used. I found it difficult to get the values right. The leaves were so similar in value that they all sort of blended together. But at least I sketched something. Maybe my October challenge will be to just sketch something each day. Might be more doable.