Practice really does help!

 I was inspired by Friend Julie to participate in a drawing challenge called 'Index Card a Day' where one does a drawing a day the size of an (or on?) an index card. This was to be done every day during June and July. I used a couple of sketchbooks that I had started ages ago and filled them both up! This led to another challenge by my daughter, artquiltmaker, to fill up some of the many begun but not finished sketchbooks! And since then I have completed another one. That makes three this summer! The one I am working in now only has four pages left! YAY!

Above are three of the ICAD drawings I made.

After I completed that challenge I stopped drawing! But only briefly as I was trying to fill up sketchbooks.  I challenged myself to draw people wearing masks! I thought it would be a good chronicle of these pandemic times and interesting to draw. I have drawn eight masked people and a masked bear (copied from the internet). Each day that I draw I find that it gets easier and easier and the drawings, I think, are better and better. So I encourage you to draw every day. Not only are my drawings better but I have found that I like drawing faces of people and dogs. And instead of only drawing in the morning I go to my studio and draw a couple more times during the day.

I mention the dogs because my Oregon daughter seems to have many friends whose dogs have died. When they do she sends me a picture which I draw so they have a memento of their beloved pet. I am in the process of painting one now. Again, no picture!

The last thing I want to mention is that in my monthly sketchbox I often get a mini pad of a new kind of paper. I am going to check them out and report on them next month.

Next month also is 'Inktober'! Check out Jake Parker's Inktober on the internet and join in the fun and challenge. I don't use pen and ink as a rule but found last October that it was fun and challenging. I'm planning on bringing back Eggman in some of my drawings.

Thanks for reading my blog. Tell your friends if you like it. More next month.

You can see my work on instagram at peggy.carroll.73 and I also post sometimes on facebook as CarrollPeggy. I am however taking a little break mostly from facebook to avoid the political ads.

Mary