The Pink Peony of Le Jardin: Vogue & teenage drawings

I’m playing around with Windows Live Writer today~to see if I will use it for future posts. There are a gazillion other things that I really should be doing, but I have always wanted to try this out. I think the photo looks good, do you? Do you have any suggestions for me?
I found this photograph in an old Vogue magazine that I picked up at a yard sale. For some reason I am really drawn to it…maybe it is the fun hat, the pretty black and white dress, the poised “lady” mirroring women of old, or just the beautiful staging and photography. Probably all of the above. And, who wouldn’t want to be enjoying a fancy meal and reading at the same time?
Here is another fun one…

I remember the countless hours that would spend drawing “ladies” such as these in high school. I have always been fascinated by people and faces. I just had a crazy idea….just a minute….
I just took photographs of my high school pencil drawings to show you so that you can see what I mean. Okay, I think you will totally be able to tell how old I am. And now, if something ever happens to them, my posterity will be able to learn a little about me! I LOVED to draw when I was younger.
I’ll include a little commentary here and there.

This was an art class project. You may recognize the lady from the front of an old issue of National Geographic. I’m not sure what was going on with the guy on the elephant!

My art teacher had a competition with his students. He entered one of his drawings along with ours, and had students from another class judge them. (the students had no idea who had drawn what). I won, and beat my teacher. He was honestly offended!~unless he was a really good actor. Regardless, it really boosted my self esteem!

This drawing of Carson McCullers was done as my visual aid for a book report (a book that I never read!) I remember hoping that my drawing would help me get a decent grade, and it did! How did I ever do that?