You wouldn't be able to tell now by my horrible illustrations, but when I was a child I loved nothing more than having time on my hands as well as large stacks of paper and anything to draw with including pencils, textas and crayons. I still have a few pencil cases full of my old tools in my room including those Korean crayons that are much like mechanical pencils. So it's been a while since I've been up to drawing but I wish I could still draw the same way I used to; or in the style of artist Ann Muddy!
I came across one of her images and just had to find more and dig up a little bit about her; all the images shown in this post can be found on her Flickr where you can also find the means to contact her should you be interested in presenting her work. While laying about in bed this morning I got to think about what I need to get back doing; i.e. playing guitar, drawing and reading. I read a little bit this morning and yesterday broke the proverbial drought between guitar playing but I feel somewhat intimidated by a blank page. As a perfectionist I thrive on doing something 100% correct and hate mistakes- I know that if I begin to draw I'll hate what I see but without practice, I will never improve!
The technique of this self-portrait of Ann Muddy absolutely took my breath away- I couldn't believe the movement of the small lines contributing to something greater than themselves as well as the tinted texture and shading on the face and hair. Realistically I will never achieve anything this awe-inspiring in art but if I could maybe achieve something equally as great in my chosen field I would feel a little satisfied. This is the type of thing I would love to fill my diary pages with but without formal training, how can I hope to fill an empty page with so much colour as well as spiritual depth?
I know it's morally wrong to imitate someone else's work, presenting something you don't own as your own and the like but I find it hard to find my own voice and expression when it comes to drawing. When I read a book, I absorb some of the words used in the passages with unconscious effort and my style of writing changes too; isn't it normal to try to imitate something you admire? They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery and I wouldn't mind being able to master curvaceous lines like the figure above. Although the hips of the woman above are small, something has to be said about those sizable thighs. I do like the way the face is drawn, those are what I struggle with the most and the lines and design are simple but also feminine.
I mainly stick to using pencils and shading- that's my main squeeze at the moment but I've also been tyring to create movement with lines. I've never worked with proper artistic markers but I would love to see the process undertaken to create this piece. I admire the stick thin and bony figures of the lady above, as well as the red and white polka dot dress reminiscent of Minnie Mouse in contrast with blue hair. I love the way the face is done, the lines around the eyes as well as nose and shading in water colour. 
Here we can see Beauty on the left and her sister Envy with adequately coloured green hair breathing in her fume like hair with sunburnt shoulders (something I suffered yesterday). One thing that's great about art and drawing is that you can colour things the way you choose as well as constructing images from your own imagination onto paper and letting other people see your vision. I have a rather large love affair with hair in unnatural shades so that's probably a contributing factor into my love for Ann Muddy's work. Perhaps it's healthier that I love drawing weird coloured hair than turning myself into a girl with extraordinarily coloured hair.
Occasionally you'll see something unlike any of Ann Muddy's other work, like this piece simply named 'Watermelon'. I've drawn with rainbow coloured pencils before and things turned out sick and vomit looking but maybe there's something about Muddy's technique that I have yet to gain an insight into. 
For a shape that in real-life may be labelled as 'unattractive', for some strange reason I find the colour pallet used including the mint green hair as well as nude skin and blossoming pink cheeks to be somehow satisfying. I think it reminds me of gelati and ice-cream and the hot weather is frying my brain a little.
Last, but certainly not least is the drawing that led me to discover this artist! It was a drawing done to express the artist's wishes to own these pieces of clothing and I strongly identified with her style including the heart framed glasses, bone bow tie, alphabet skirt and cat tights. The handbag with the cover 'Lolitta' looks like something from Olympia Le-Tan who I have a mild obsession with so I'm more than happy to see a drawing combining so many trendy things all at once. This is the beginning of yet another brilliant fascination and obsession of mine.
