remind me again why I do art?

I've been working on my self-portrait the last couple of days.

Working on is the right term. It is such hard work, creating art, isn't it? Like pulling teeth at times. I miss cigarettes when I draw. I haven't smoked in over 2 years, and I won't again...but they sure did seem to help.

You draw a little and think it's all going well...and then you sit back and take a longer view of your work and see that something's wrong...(here's where you light up your menthol extra light 100) and you don't know what's wrong and so you look back and forth and back and forth between your art and photo and then you can't stand it that you can't see what's wrong so you get up for another cup of coffee/diet coke and then you come back and you think maybe you know what's wrong. So you draw a little and think it's going well...and then you sit back...and it all starts all over again.

What is fun about this? What about this process makes us so eager to do it as often as possible? We're all a crazy bunch of loony folks, I say!!!!

On the other hand, sometimes when I look at a few of my finished portraits, I can't quite believe my hands and eyes created such a wonder from colored pencils.

I guess in the end the agony is occasionally worth it. Maybe.

Back to work....