Colour and darkness update

It has slowly dawned on me (in part through my largely ineffective efforts to reproduce the effect I am looking for) that it's not just the level of darkness that appeals to me, but the level of contrast. This, of course is what my tutor was suggesting at the very beginning!

Of course this is not always true, because it depends on what I am drawing, but a bit of focus on contrast could get me a long way with my drawing I suspect. Looking back, at the drawings I have done during this part of the course...

Dark -low contrast

Higher contrast

Low contrast

Higher contrast

Dark - low contrast

Higher contrast

The lighter spikes give it more shape
and add to the compositional interest

Perhaps this one is an exception to this idea -
the lower contrast gives it an atmosphere and make me wonder
what the story is behind the picture.

Noticing contrast around me more. For example, the dishwasher - how does it look in monochrome, compared with one contrasting item?