Ruddy Duck sketch

It's been a dozen year since the last time I did any drawing. I've never had any training, but did some acceptable pen-and-ink drawings and pencil sketches in the past. For the past month or so I've been watching videos by Jack Laws and bought some pencils and a sketchbook and have been following the drawing techniques that Mr. Laws discusses on his blog posts and videos.

I did some drawings last week based on photos I took last month, but think I've followed the directions more closely in this recent drawing. I'd never done shading before. Still need some practice with water....

Here is the result (a photograph of my drawing--the original is on white paper, not gray).

Here is the original photograph on which the drawing was based.

Ruddy Duck. Dixon Lake, Escondido, California. November 30, 2016. Greg Gillson.

Oddly, I tipped the bill towards the viewer too much. And I need help with the eye. But it's a start. The rest is practice. I need to draw more to get better, not necessarily learn more techniques. "Each drawing is just practice for the next one," as Laws says.