Picasso I Am Not

In an effort to expand my interests, as well as to step away from the couch and TV, I purchased a sketch book, drawing pencils, and some instructional material to take a stab at drawing. In all honesty, the stuff sat on my coffee table collecting dust for more than a month until I got a little nudge thanks to an article I read and listened to at NPR.

The article was titled "Getting Adults to Draw" and it discussed how we were all artists as children. Drawing and coloring to our hearts content on any flat surface we could find: paper, coloring books, and some of us -- even on walls. We did our thing at school or daycare and rushed home to share our art work with our parents, who in turn proudly displayed it in a place of honor -- more than likely the fridge. But at some point, we as children stop drawing, and the guest attributes it to the fact that children don't see adults do it and drawing becomes a "baby" activity. Another potential reason is that people stop drawing when they realize they're not good at it, when in fact that shouldn't stop anyone from drawing. We don't stop playing basketball when we realize we're not going to play in the NBA, so why should we stop drawing or sketching just because we're not going to be the next Picasso or Rembrandt.

So, to make a long story short, though it might be a little too late for that, I opened up my box of pencils and I started drawing. Here's my handiwork:

I wanted to include a photo of my art supplies, but Jasmin had another idea.

Here's my first creation. It's not van Gogh's Sunflowers, but heck, there's no where but up from here.

I don't think this one is necessarily a step up, but he is cute.

Jasmin manages to get in the shot again. The girl wants to be in pictures.

This little guy is my favorite.

There's definite room for improvement, so I'm not giving up. Even if my skills have already reached their peak, I'm OK with that, because you know what, drawing is still fun.