I looked at my drawing with fresh eyes today and saw that some of the main bamboo strips weren’t in the correct positions. Though I kept measuring and checking them in reference to other points in the basket and the rest of the composition, when I sat back and looked at the drawing, they still didn’t seem right. I noticed that there seemed to be too much space between the top of the basket and the horizontal band a bit below it. Ignoring my measurements, I raised the band a bit and lowered the level of the top rim. This looked better to me. I also saw that the horizontal band wasn’t really flat. The basket it very irregular, and the band tilts up quite a bit on the left side. You can see the correction in the photo below.
As I started filling in some of the major bamboo strips, I saw that the ones on the right needed to be moved over to the right. As I began to fill in more details, I noticed that things seemed to be joining up properly- a sign that the drawing was mostly correct. Now I’m confident enough in my drawing that I can begin to trust my eyes more, and move things around that need to be moved. When I’m stuck too much in measuring, I often lose the spontaneity of seeing and recording. My eyes are my best tools! I think that the drawing will be easier from now on.
Linda Mann Artist 