Connecting shapes and negative shapes

This exercise was somewhat of a challenge. I setup a still life with objects of similar color and drew the whole as a connecting shape straight with watercolor. It demanded some concentration indeed.

I then setup a simpler still life against a colored background and proceeded to draw the negative shapes.

In the last try, the had to pay attention to lights vs. darks. In the first try, I got into all the fuss with reflections, cast shadows etc when all I had to do was strong light vs strong darks. The second try is closer to what I had to do I think.

This was part of the Sketching Now course.