I have recently been going through some of my old artwork. It is helpful for me to look at what I have done in the past, to see how my drawing has evolved. I used to do freelance illustrations for magazines, advertising and brochures. Drawings of plants and food were always my favourite assignments and that is what I began to specialize in. Because these drawings were for reproduction I worked in pen and ink, using a technical pen....a Marsmatic made by Staedtler. The nibs, which could be bought separately, ranged in size from 3, 2, 1, 0,00,000 and 0000. I was gradually using a finer and finer nib and when I reached 0000, the finest available, I began to think that I might have become a little obsessive. I found it amazing that a droplet of ink could actually come out of the nib but reproduction became a problem, the line breaking and appearing disjointed. I have since stopped using a technical pen but it is fun for me to see these old drawings. Maybe it's going against my nature but I would like to work in a looser way and that is something I constantly struggle with and work towards. Maybe not wearing my glasses and a glass of wine might help, I'll give it a try. 
