Why I Started Drawing....

     I always thought I would be a writer. I wrote my first poem at the age of 3. I was in kindergarten at a Christian school in San Diego, California. It went something like this...

    "God is wind
      wind is sad
       wind is glad
      I like the wind"

     Not one of my best works, but hey, I was a kid..lol. Back then, you had to start kindergarten early if you were awesome, so that is what happened to me. Just as well, I missed a lot of school because of chronic illness and ear infections. Same year I had my tonsils, adenoids and tubes put in my ears. To have this done so young was rare in the early 70's and rather dangerous. I stopped getting sick all the time for about 4 years. I remember to this day the blue tile in the operating room and that big black mask coming towards my face. My mother must have been a wreck.

      Anyway, wow little trip down memory lane! I drew and loved loved loved to color as a kid. The smell of a new box of crayola crayons, and how much I looked forward each year to school starting because it meant new school supplies and wonderful new boxes of crayons for both class and then the biggest box for home! I never thought I was any good though, you know just kid stuff.

      I started to get into modern art and especially grid things with black lines and color all around. I decided in high school to have one of my electives be drawing. I was excited. That was immediately smashed when the teacher informed me to give it up after spending 2 weeks on a project every day after school to get the pastel shading right. He gave me c's and d's, did not really offer any advice or help either. So I dropped the class, drew a few 80's things in my room like outline of mannequins with modern art mini skirts with matching big jewelery. nothing else really. I did color every now and then.

      When my son was about 4, we lived back east and had a great PBS station. A show called "Imagination Station" came on in the afternoons with animator Mark Kistler. I watched the shows with my son and we drew. He taught in such a fun way I bought one of his books and started to learn to draw a bit. I got busy with life and set it aside. About 5 or so years ago Mark had a website I wanted to take the online lessons, but it was a bit expensive, so I didn't until this year. May 5th, I was talking to my son I was thinking about doing this and he told me I should, at the worst I would be out 100 bucks, on the plus side, I could learn a great deal in a year.

I started out drawing the wonderful lessons on his site. I drew for 3-6 hours each day. I was hooked! His lessons are great, they are such fun and I really love the comic feel of things.

This is my first stingray. A bit washed out due to bad paper.