Drawing and painting go beyond just expression. I create for the challenge. The challenge of attempting to re-create the perfection and beauty so effortlessly produced by nature. I welcome this challenge with every subject I draw and paint. Why? Because this practice fosters creativity and fuels my next artwork. Every new artwork has its challenges: composition, proportion, drawing a likeness, proper color mixing, matching the correct values and saturation to create believability. I find inspiration from Manet's floral work. Flowers make suitable subjects: flowers don't get tired-only thirsty, do not require a break, and varieties are endless. I revisit the traditional art of drawing and painting exclusively from life—no reliance on cameras or photographic prints. My toolkit comprises simple yet essential tools like a homemade plumb line, a bamboo skewer (unused, of course), and a few rulers. This approach offers the gratification of creating artwork solely through the coordination of my eyes, hands, and mind, bypassing the mediation of a camera lens or sensor. I needed to prove to myself that the skills I worked to achieve during my university days were not lost to the past. I have a sense of both accomplishment and surprise with the completion of each and every artwork, learning more and more as I move forward. I will never attain the perfection of nature in my work, but I know that I am one tiny step closer to every artwork I create.