Maa Maa the cat....and what a difference a year makes!

A very happy and wonderfully rainy Friday to you. I had the most exhilarating walk in the rain. We had rain!! I love rain. We hardly have any here, and a walk in the rain was so much fun. My five miles flew past and l returned home soaking wet, my hair dripping and my feet squelching. Oh but it smelled so good! And it felt so good. And now l am struggling to sit still and write this post, because l have started a new piece of art and l am so excited l can't think about anything else! I am very easily amused! And that is the thing about loving what you draw, the excitement just bubbles over
But l have to sit still for a while.....it's difficult....because l want to show you a true then and now shot. The picture above is the beautiful Maa Maa now complete, the picture below was almost exactly one year ago to the day. About a month after l first started drawing with colored pencils. To be completely fair the reference photo was terrible. I never did like the huge pupils....but had neither the sense nor skill to change them. What I am really aware of is the difference in what I now notice when l draw. Which I know is something that I keep talking about, but l can tell you in all honesty that l am no better at using a pencil now than I was then. The difference between then and now is in what l see. I see more colors. I see more shapes. I see more texture. I see more contrast.
Seeing all those things results in a vast difference in the time spent, the little cat below took about a day and a half to complete. Maa Maa took six days, with at least a whole day spent on just her eyes - this thought is slightly worrying, because in a couple of years time l might be down to one piece of art a year! I know that I am definitely not getting quicker. Of course, the more you draw the better you understand the shapes you seem the way fur goes, all the little things that make a difference.
For me, seeing the difference in the two pieces is really encouraging and it gives me confidence that if l keep practising l will get better. That is really an exciting thought, because there is no end to how much better you can get. And l hope anyone who reads this, who wants to draw finds it encouraging too. Because it is just a skill, honed through practise. Which means that anyone can do it if they really want to.

l do hope you enjoyed seeing the difference that a year makes. That is all l can bring myself to write today because l just can't sit still anymore. My new piece is calling me! I am longing to share it with you too, but it will have to wait until next week. I hope you all have an amazing weekend and as much fun drawing as I do! Haaaaappy drawing!
Oooh! Almost forgot...,you can buy prints of Maa Maa now in my shop, link below! Got drawing on the brain!
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