Playing with pastels

I have taken the plunge and begun a practice piece with my new pastel pencils; this picture is from an online demo by Colin Bradley. I'm liking the pastels so far, very different to coloured pencil and I won't use them all the time but nice for a change. This little dog is in the very early stages but I'm happy with how it's going, also I'm pleased that I did the initial line drawing freehand!

More upside down drawing

I have been practicing some more of the 'upside down' technique. These drawings aren't from the book but the author does encourage students to do extra pieces. I'm finding it so fascinating I shall try and do one a day until I feel really ready to move on to the next chapter. Obviously these drawings are again copies of someone elses work and by no means perfect, however I'm still astounded by the results and the difference that is made by doing the drawing upside down.