Break through....at last

This wash drawing I did in class a few days ago, really got a lot of praise from fellow artists; nearly everyone thought I should frame it... I frankly don't see it (I was floored). Even my instructor said it was very good. Could it be that it was just a good likeness of the model? Any comments on the wash drawing are welcome...please tell me what it is that you like or don't like . . . I'm curious why I can't see what they see or maybe I'm right and they are wrong.

Some ink drawings recently ... I think are really some of my best work so far in figure drawing aesthetically speaking. I will post them soon in a new post.

Thanks Jon for your comment (below).
This drawing will be signed and framed.

"You've had a major break through, Patti and you have gone to another level in your drawing," instructor Glen says. At life drawing class, he pulled me aside, "I've watched you for the last two classes and I can confirm it is a real advancement, he goes on, "This is how it goes in art; you have advanced. It's unpredictable." I had noticed that Glen had stepped back and was just letting me go lately. I thought he was not wanting to pressure me because of my grief and stress when actually, he was watching to see if this was a true advancement.

Puzzling isn't it? One would think progress would halt in such circumstances since I have not been able to focus down on drawing since my mother passed away? The last few weeks has me drawing here and there and fearing my recent progress was slipping back. Instead, something great was happening.

Apparently this is how artists grow . . . in plateaus and often suddenly. One can never plan for it and it goes against logic for you work and work and struggle and don't feel you are getting any where and then all of a sudden "things click" and you see differently as you draw. Yet, I know how the subconscious mind continues to work on problems even when our conscious mind is unaware. This phenomena happened in brainstorming for ideas in my former career in graphic arts. The greatest ideas would often come a day or two after brainstorming for hours and hours. The mind works on problem solving even when we are not fully conscious of doing so.

(I will edit this post and upload some more recent sketches. Truly feeling blessed for I needed a boost right now badly . . . no time today to do it.)