Mat Kaminski Sketchybewk

[ReneAigner]

Hey mat, I'm not a big one for general advice in sketchbooks, so I picked this quote from you because I think I might be more helpful in this regard:

This whole edges thing is something that I have been struggling with for awhile. I think maybe I should try and do just a bunch of cloth drape studies to really start to use that whole lost edge thing. Maybe there are some other things that I can use for good study material. One thing that is definitely fun to do is still lives, but they are hard to do because of the timing for them. The lighting has to be just right or it doesn't work very well.

Edge variation doesn't really exist in reality. There are no soft/lost edges, except in unusual situations (fog/mist etc.).Edges have to be designed. That's why you won't be able to really practice edge control with any specific subject, be it still life or portrait. They cannot be observed. Look to masters of edge control (Sargent, Zorn etc.) and analyze what they do with edges and why they do it. Stapleton Kearns has a nice series of blog-posts on edge control:
http://stapletonkearns.blogspot.de/2010/...rgent.html

Also, about changing light in a still life, you might want to try building a shadow box. One simple artificial lightsource, eliminating most if not all indirect light affords you the opportunity to work on a still life whenever and as long as you want.