I can no longer draw with a pastel. My hands are too paralysed and weak, not enough fine control. I cannot see out of my right eye it is so blurry. So I have tried to find moments when I might use a tablet drawing programme. It has its own challenges and actually takes me far longer than doing a real pastel. Using the smudging tool is really hard work and a lot of effort for me. It also causes more eye pain and can trigger paralysis from the effort. Nevertheless I am proud to have managed to draw a picture of Bobby, a scared dog who is learning to be brave. Doing a black dog is a huge challenge for me in general, It almost has to be done in reverse. In order to see him clearly I drew a white outline on a black page then coloured in the outer background to maintain the shape of the dog, then added the furry hairy bits as he is a very furry dog with a long shaggy coat. Each time I try to draw a dog this way I learn more about the process and how to achieve better results. It is ongoing
