Art Lesson: Drawing a Tractor.

This post is a bit later than I wanted to get it on here because,

well,...

I'm going to be honest:

I kept pushing off getting this sketch done.

I wanted to do a sketch/painting on a piece for my husband's birthday,

and he's a tractor sort of guy.

Farmall's are his favorite,

but he actually has a John Deere right now,

so what was I to do?

Here is how to do a simple sketch of a Farmall.

After I had done that sketch, I decided to try this picture that I have of my husband with our son.

With this sketch, I just began by taking visual measurements and adjusting as I went along.

The Farmall was easier for a beginnier tractor, I thought, and I was glad I started with that one.

This was a sketch that pushed me outside my comfort zone, 

and I think a big part of the reason is that I do not know tractors...

their structure: how they are made, where their parts are,

their "skeletal shape," in a sense.

I know my husband (who does mechanic work) knows the parts and shapes of the features,

so I felt like every detail had to be more precise,

like copying the alphabet of a language that uses different lettering...

each line and curve must be very specific.

I am still finishing this piece;

I hope to watercolor it tomorrow and share the result when it is finished.

Because I still feel unsure of tractor art, 

I plan to take a picture of it when I am done outlining it with the pen,

and try painting a copy for practice first.

Stretching my brain to draw something I was uncomfortable with was great brain exercise,

and I am sure I could use more of that!

Have you had to do any forced pieces of art lately that made you paint outside your comfort zone?

Thanks for stopping by!