Breakthrough

The new year brings with it some better news. Yesterday, in what has become a depressing ritual, I tried drawing. It’s a good way to check how far my Parkinson’s has progressed. Lately, it has ended in frustration a few minutes into the exercise. I just haven’t had the kind of control that used to get me through a project. While I sat in our office wondering what subject to scribble, wad up and throw away, the photo next to the desk lamp beckoned me. It’s a shot of Lisa that always cheers me up. In my darkest hours, her smiling face can improve my mood. I took the framed print to the drawing table and spent the next five hours trying to capture her likeness. While I don’t feel that the results are recognizable as her specifically (she thought the topmost attempt was a man), they’re probably my best sketches in more than a year:

Update: A few days later, I spent two more hours and achieved a better result. While it’s still not as good as I would like, I’m happy to have a reason to keep working.

Update: A few weeks later, the practice is paying off: