A more serious training..

I am getting more serious about my drawing skills training / learning in past few weeks.
Although I did not do very well in my watercolor courses in January (and I do accept I did not put enough time on it), it bought me close to my near and dear skill.. drawing..
After re-reading my books, on figure drawing, I am getting more attracted towards the classical way of studying drawing. My current aim is to first do very well in drawing, before moving to the next medium. It is kind of encouraging to learn that even in classical ateliers, students spend more than an year first in drawing. So its not a bad idea to focus on it till I master the medium very well.
One of the most important thing to learn is that even the professional masters spend a lot of time in a single drawing. Breaking it up into smaller 2/3 hour chunks and working on it for weeks.
The idea is to work on details, and redo the parts till they are perfect (ie. use the eraser without a guilt feeling :-) ). I did try this and my first study has been a good success. The main thing I learnt is that if I spend more time and focus on details, like drapery and hair, they turn into pretty interesting things and add a lot to the overall impression of drawing. The hair and clothes look pretty boring when I try to complete the whole sketch in 1/2 hours.
So here is the result of my first study.. A cast drawing of a sculpture by Rodin. I plan to do many such casts..