Since joining an on-line art group I have been amazed by just how many people are out there working hard in their studios creating works in every conceivable medium!  There are times when you have to wonder why you put yourself through the pain of striving to be better than you are.  Complacency is not an option for me and for a great number of people according to what I am observing through the sharing venue!  The more I see the more I feel the need to keep learning - I still have to attend life-drawing classes and it is something that I am driven to do.  I have worked in acrylics, oils, watercolour, pencils, inks but pastels are something I still need to work on.  So, every day is a challenge, every piece of work is a struggle or at any rate something that requires hard work.  But, the joys of creating, of living in a world of art, music, dance is not something that I take forgranted.  Some material for a future collection of art works although I am still in the process of gathering and sorting - I only take and use my own photos - ever!