I was surprised to learn Teddy Roosevelt said that, perhaps because I’m more likely to think of him riding roughly up a hill shouting “Bully!” Regardless, I find it to be true, more and more the older I get. Just now I was looking at the work of some sketchers I admire, and thinking how much better they are than I am. I picked up my pen and drew for a few minutes, but my work still looked like mine and not theirs so I put the pen down.
On a recent flight, I drew the picture above on my tablet. “I prefer pen and paper, but this was more convenient at the time.” I don’t think it’s particularly good or bad, but I enjoyed drawing it.
A flight attendant saw it over my shoulder. She asked if I was a professional artist. She said she wished she could do what I was doing.
It didn’t make me feel proud, or stroke my ego. It made me glad I was doing what I was doing, and that I enjoyed it.
Thanks for this wise reminder, and your drawing is lovely.
I am convinced we cannot see our own creations as others do. We couldn’t possibly be “as good” as others, right? Then of course we meet those others or we post a great sketch or write a story that is meaningful to us. Others enjoy it, and we enjoyed creating it.
Thank you for sharing this, Dave. I love this sketch. And you are really good.