Just Have a Go.
Zeebra will agree with this in her “time out for art”
“You are not going to post that rubbish?” My ego enquired,
“Why not?”
“Your grandkids can do better drawings and the photos are just snap shots.”
“Because I am not a genius you would have me doing nothing but sit around watching TV. I am not hurting anyone enjoying a pastime, people with no mobile phone to play with would be left twiddling their thumbs and getting up tight and impatient. “
So why not show other people that they do not need an expensive toy or talent to look at the wonderful world around them. Matt Groening did not let it stop him while he was waiting, he drew Bart Simpson. I enjoy the lulls in life, instead of getting impatient, I draw and it is relaxing and takes my mind off myself. Even when you have some discomfort the diversion will take your mind off what is ailing you.
My sketching is not for other people, it is for my enjoyment. Critics can knock it, that is no problem, as long as the comments are constructive, I can learn from criticism and if it is intended to upset me I can laugh at it. Then like a gift that is not accepted, it will remain with the giver. Dale Carnegie said “When someone hands you a lemon, make lemonade.” Your friends will not knock your efforts, at the worst they may have a laugh and laughter is good. When the first baby laughed, that was the beginning of fairies, according Peter Pan.
My sketching helps my memory; I can recall details of places and things after sketching them. Like photos they are good to look back on, but you can add a bit of yourself in a drawing, a camera just shows the facts; the artist is at liberty to alter the composition, leave things out or add in. When I say artist I am including myself, because if I don’t, no one else will. Yes an artist can distort, or get really abstract.
Drawing is like playing the ukulele, the more you practice the better you get. It is that way with most things. I say most things but I can’t think of anything that doesn’t improve with practice. It may take a lot of time and practice so the sooner you start the better. That is my biggest fault I started too late. I let my ego get in the way of a lot of things when I was young. Thinking I might look silly or it was not masculine. Groucho Marks did not worry about being silly and John Wayne is dead, so don’t be shy, have a go.