I haven’t been able to do much drawing recently due to a couple of major life events happening concurrently. I have been doing a little bit here and there and I drew this portrait in blue pencil in my sketchbook. I don’t have a specific area of concern, but it doesn’t look finished to me. I know I could have placed it a bit lower on the page to give more space around the portrait (but that’s where it ended up on the page). I’m including the reference.I would really appreciate your advice. Thank you!

For the past three weeks, I wouldn’t say I had a rough time, but my days weren’t the best either. Before that, I was working on my 100 heads challenge and reached a point where I started questioning myself and my skills. For context, I usually work two days a week in a warehouse—it’s a nice job, not too hard. But I ran short on money, so I decided to get a second job until uni starts. The second warehouse job was physically exhausting—I had to lift heavy weights—and on top of that, the people there weren’t very kind. Even though I knew it was only temporary, I felt guilty for not painting. I missed drawing and painting so much. In the end, this experience made me realize I shouldn’t overthink things so much. I just need to paint or draw because I love it, no matter the outcome. I finished this portrait study today, and I am so happy I finally painted.

I wanted to ask whether anyone else out there can spend day after day drawing horrible faces before something you are pleased with finally appears on the paper. I think I've ripped up more pages this week than I have in the last 4 years ( not something I do really) - until at last I managed to draw this one. ❤️ I'm trying to stay positive and be "interested" in how I can be so inconsistent all of a sudden - and am keen to hear how other folk manage to get through a patch like this.

Someone shared a resource with reference photos on this platform. Thank you to everyone who does that — it’s been really helpful.

Hello all, I’m a self-taught beginner with no local life-drawing sessions or teaching available. I’ve been learning from books and Youtube, but thought I’d ask if anyone had any recommendations for online resources. Live courses/workshops are challenging given my work schedule and time zone, but I could do a course that meets on weekends. Thanks in advance for your recs!