Start by choosing a photo that has a sharp image of the subject you want to work with. Flowers make excellent subjects for this type of drawing because of their beautiful shapes. Have you ever noticed how your flowers sometimes seem to get lost in the green background of a photo? This technique will isolate your subject so your photo doesn't have to be a particularly good one as long as your subject is in focus.

First make a tracing of your subject with tracing paper and a sharp #2 pencil. A good way to do this is to tape your tracing paper to the photo and then tape or hold your photo to a window. The outside light will make it very easy to trace your subject.

This Hollyhock was hard to see in my photo even though it had bright red blooms that were surrounded by green. This happens when red and the green are about the same value: even though they are opposite colors it confuses the eye. You can see the flower's beauty of form now that it is isolated. Even though nature is beautiful she isn't always perfect, maybe you can improve your drawing a little by rearranging some elements. I did in this instance. I moved a bud or two and redrew a leaf that had been half eaten away by bugs. (No comments on my gardening technique please!)

This drawing would make a beautiful stationary or bookmark just as it is and I have used it that way many times. The soft lines of the graphite will make a soft line drawing when printed out.

Composition is a matter of balance and taste. There are as many theories about composition as there are about learning to draw. Since I want to keep this as simple as possible, I will just explain a couple of ways to help compose an image and then leave the rest up to your own taste.

Try using geometric shapes to help you compose your image. Make two "L" shaped paper frames and use them to frame your drawing. Look at the negative space around your drawing. (Negative space is the space not occupied by your drawing.) Does your drawing divide up the negative space in your frame? Draw a circle around your drawing and see how your drawing "sits" in it. Does the circle shape suggest any additions to you? Does an oval? It did to me and you can see what I added in this drawing.

The two hollyhocks I added are in different positions than in the photo I used. I drew an oval shape on my tracing paper to help me place them. I just slid the tracing paper with my original line drawing and oval on it around on the photo until I found a place for each of them that kept the drawing in balance inside the oval.

This image prints out beautifully in soft gray tones. It is improved by a looser drawing of the side hollyhocks. When you are drawing, try letting some lines fade out softly and make others sharper. Notice that the edge of your subject will fade into the background sometimes. Make those lines soft and faded. Draw the clearly defined edges sharper and stronger. This has the effect of making the hard edges come toward you and the softer edges recede into the background and so this technique will add dimension and interest to your drawing.