Doubt, doing and life drawing

It's a funny thing... I love art journaling, I truly believe it's a creative force for self expression, emotional release, flights of imagination, capturing the minutiae of everyday life, exploring, playing and so much more, and yet...well, to be frank, at the moment I don't seem able to do it!  Apart from a few moments of artistic looseness over the last few days, it all feels a bit contrived, a bit like I'm trying too hard, a bit like I have nothing to say even though I feel fit to burst.  Yesterday I was inspired by the journaling books on my shelves, today I feel constrained by them.  Self doubt is a regular experience for me, far too regular for my liking.  I know the only way to overcome it is by doing.  The last few days have opened me up, shifted something inside me, got my creative juices flowing again, and for it to be followed by self doubt is, I think, almost a natural progression for me, my muse is saying, "come on, let's fly downhill with the wind in our hair, be wild and spontaneous and create just for the hell of it" while my ever present inner critic is saying, "just a minute, I don't think we should rush into anything, whatever you create won't be up to much, let's stay home and brick up the front door just in case."  I think I might just send inner critic to her room and wreak havoc with my muse!  ;oD  The moral of the story is you've just got to keep doing!  Good plan.

Life class this evening and I thought I'd share one of my pencil efforts:

    
Obviously there's a facial problem and the left knee and right hand are a tad odd but overall I'm quite happy with the proportions and shading.  :o)  Progress is pretty slow for me on the life drawing front, chiefly because I rarely make time to do any figure drawing between classes and also because I stand in my own way all the time... "I can't do faces/hands/feet." is a regular cry of mine, often accompanied by huffing and puffing and woe is me faces!  But I just have to keep doing.  ;o)