Improving, over time....

This week I got a lovely message from our Guide to Cats, Franny Syufy, telling me how much she treasured the drawing I did of her cat Joey. She was just creating a new gallery of Tabby Cat Photographs which included Joey. I did the drawing for my Cat in Graphite Pencil lesson, and at the time, I was rather proud of it. Its funny though, no matter how good you think you get, you always learn and progress, and spot the flaws in your old work.

Now I look at the drawing, and find it rather flat - I was so focussed on the surface detail in the drawing that I didn't really pay enough attention to modeling the form, and I'd like to have made the background shading much more even. I guess this is a good sign - at least it shows that I'm still learning. There is the odd drawing in my folio that I'm still pleased with, even years later - a couple of life drawings that aren't too bad, and a drawing of my favorite old boots, which I have a sentimental attachment to. I also like to try new techniques and different approaches, so I guess I can't expect them all to be perfect - its far more interesting to take a risk and explore, rather than create a perfect copy of my last success.