Meet Marlene Milk-Tray (Sweet girl)

WHATEVER you think of this as a work of art, it is a truly remarkable picture.

I say this with confidence because it is the first drawing I've ever attempted using chocolate crayons.

This unusual gift was presented to me last Christmas, along with a small square of canvas on which I was invited to produce one of my masterworks.

Mooching around for something to do one afternoon while under lockdown, I got out my chocolate crayons and began this fantastic portrait of Marlene Milk-Tray.

The task presented a number of unexpected difficulties.

For a start, each crayon could only be handled for a few seconds because the hot afternoon sun was melting them at a furious rate.

Secondly, the canvas had to be placed in a shaded spot to prevent meltdown of the picture itself.

Thirdly, the unusual odour of hot chocolate proved to be slightly nauseating.

Fourthly, I had absolutely no desire to eat the crayons after I had finished with them.

As a means of producing art, it was probably the most absurd I've encountered in nearly seventy years of intense interest in the creative arena.

So here she is. Marlene Milk-Tray. Sweet girl. (Chocolate on canvas)