Brook & Bramble Art

This one is old enough now that I can look at it with a bit of kindness, and a healthy dose of hindsight. I remember loving the original sketch so much. The lines felt right, the posture worked, and for once I didn’t immediately spot a dozen things I wanted to fix. Naturally, this led to the completely sensible decision not to “ruin it” with paint.

So instead, I ruined it with colouring pencils.

At the time, this felt like a compromise. Safer. More controlled. Less likely to spiral. In reality, it was just a different way of overworking something that probably should have been left alone. The delicate sketchy energy got buried under layers of hesitant colour, each one added with good intentions and increasing regret.

And yet… there’s still something I like here.

The texture of the fur, the quiet alertness in the pose, the suggestion rather than the statement, all of that survived my interference. It’s not what I would do now, but it’s a clear snapshot of where my head was then: cautious, attached, and slightly terrified of committing to a medium I didn’t fully trust yet. And still don’t!

This piece reminds me that the urge to protect a drawing often leads to meddling rather than restraint. Sometimes the bravest thing really is to stop. To leave well enough alone. A lesson learned slowly, and usually the hard way.

Still, for all its flaws, I don’t regret this one. It marks a point where I cared enough to hesitate, even if I didn’t yet know how to walk away.