Exercise: Still life group in tone

I completed this exercise using pastel pencil on a prepared board as I had them both available - although I am not very familiar with pastel, so it was a double whammy of learning!

I selected my blue enamel jug with some mugs and pastry and did as instructed - screwing up my eyes to see the dark tones. I definitely am learning to 'see' tone much better than at the beginning of my studies and remain surprised that a reasonable picture can emerge from focusing primarily on tone. I am also learning that lighting is really important to see the differences.

I used a mixture of shade, hatch and line in developing the picture but was frustrated in my lack of skill with the medium and attempts to capture the really dark tones eluded me - my board was an olive green which on reflection was a mistake and I would have done better to use a lighter tone.