Yesterdays-Thimble

I'm afraid my art has suffered of late. Due to declining health, I've had little time or energy for the things I love.The only thing I've drawn lately is a nude croquis, which I'll use in creating fashion sketches. See, instead of drawing a whole figure every time I want a new fashion sketch, I've done a series of models in different poses that I can pick from. I like having variety, so I'm always working on a new croquis. This last one took me ages to finish, partly because of my health, and partly because her hair gave me fits. I usually have some difficulty with the hair, especially getting the colors to look natural, but this time . . ...

I am not a professional artist. Let's just get that out of the way. I started out ambitiously, winning a regional art contest when I was five, with a crayon and watercolor painting of a leopard. My late grandfather was a talented artist and art instructor, and I will never forget how proud he was the day I won that contest. As I grew up, I sketched constantly, but since my grandfather died when I was ten, I lacked instruction. It wasn't until I was in my early 20s, when my mother-in-law gave me a Reader's Digest book of drawing and painting, that I finally figured out how to give my sketches a three-dimensional appearance, simply by adding...