People ask if it is “cheating” to measure or to use tools when drawing. In a word, NO. If I am drawing something that needs to be exact, I measure. Usually I do it by hand first, then I measure to be certain that my proportions, sizes, distances, and angles are accurate (or close enough to be believable). The “rule” (in quotes, because I am making my own rules) is that if it took a tool to build it in real life, it most likely requires a tool on paper to replicate it.

The big old house’s details are becoming clearer to me now that I have more photos. More erasing, more do-overs (YEA for pencil), and still more decisions remain. Oranges? Walnuts? Nothing in the upper left corner? 

The new photos helped immensely.

The wooden thing by the front steps that showed up in yesterday’s post as a question is irrelevant.

The front door and the windows with their diamond upper panes are now correct in both proportions and detail.

Seeing it here on my computer screen helps me evaluate it, and I plan to plant another shrub in the front. This is where Jane’s grandmother lived many years ago, so it isn’t necessary to match every detail as it is today, only to make it look good.

We decided that a flag would be a nice addition, and it will be the spot of color that I dearly love to put in each drawing, when there is an obvious place for it. (The faded silk poinsettias at the bottom of the steps were not welcome in this drawing, although that would have been an obvious spot for color.)