Figure drawing

I was a little afraid that I would have completely forgotten how to do this stuff when I set out to draw tonight. It's only been two weeks, I guess, but it feels like a lot longer.

Anyway, from tonight's critique: my line quality isn't masterful (surprise! ;), but I seem to be getting the hang of the procedure. I made the figure a smidgen too wide, and something about the way I draw the lines not suggesting three dimensions or something... Probably the heaviness of line?

Anyway, I probably got a little out of control with the shading. When I start into shading one of these little studies, I seem to be wrestling between laying down the full range of values I see and trying to practice more restraint and simplify the masses. The latter is what I'm going for, but I just get out of control. Really either approach would probably turn out alright if I could just be consistent, but I vacillate, and I think it becomes evident in the cohesiveness of the drawing. 

Also, one of the other students shared the opinion tonight that it's hard to be mad/upset about your efforts if you love what you're doing. I thought it was an interesting perspective, and evidence that we all see the world in such different ways. For me, because I love it so much, I can't seem to be happy unless my efforts are exceptional. I'm not saying either perspective is good/bad or better/worse. Just interesting. For me, I think I want my art to reflect the passion I feel for it. I'm not living up to that ideal yet, which is where the frustration seeps in, but I'm sure I'll just keep getting closer--one tiny step at a time. With my personality, I highly doubt that I'll ever feel that I've made it, ha. But that's ok. It's all about the climb ;)