Shading Shadows

This has been a weird month, yet again.  Though my life seems to be at a standstill right now with no real progress in job satisfaction or homelife or lovelife for that matter, there are surges of creativity and emotions that are rocking me overboard.  My life with my sister has reached a point of equilibrium but only tenuously accomplished through a tight-rope walking act that I find myself tired of and left drained.  Though I know we appreciate what we do for each other, I can't help but feel as if I'm being pushed out like toothpaste.  Only when she is gone for work do I feel a sense of focus return to me and my level of productivity skyrockets.  Even though there is a possibility we may live together in the future, and it will be invaluable time to spend with my sister that I love so, I secretly pray for a way out to breath.  To be alone.
And that's when I run to my drawing.  How much joy I get from drawing, I don't think anyone will know.  A sense of calm comes over me and I feel peace.  The hours pass by like minutes and I rarely remember feeling as if class is dragging.  If anything, I pout that there was not enough time and will spend an extra hour or so cleaning up what I've drawn.
Last month, I spend quite a bit of time working on my gestures which have improved greatly.  Now I'm working on value and shading which is quite difficult to do.  Though these are the best shading examples I have so far, I am pretty sure I can do better.  Already I see my figures and how they can be more life-life.  How I want them to be life-like.  In some ways, I've only just grasped the mechanics of general shading on the big muscles and now I must focus on the small subtle shades.  I hope to produce more sophisticated work in the next few weeks.