Over the weekend I gave myself the challenge to draw exclusively in black and white and the various shades of grey to help myself see value better. I didn't get as many chances to draw outside this weekend as I would have liked so I may keep the challenge going in my travel sketchbook for awhile longer. I am happy to be using some old shades of grey Pitt markers after years of neglect. Very happy that I took on this extra challenge. Wish I had done something like this when I was in art school.

started out with painting a dried and pressed flower from the safety of my studio

then moved on to drawing ginkgo leaves and seedpods at the school playground while my kids played

an owl from my imagination and sketches from the Museum of Natural History in NYC