I'm Learning to Draw
Yikes!
I don’t envy people that much. At least I think I don’t.
But…
What I DO envy is people with skills I want to have.
Want an example?
Boogie-woogie piano players.
I would SO love to be able to unassumingly walk up to a piano, sit down, and bash out some tunes. Shades of “They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano,” right? Next time you see a great live band with a fantastic keyboardist, that’s my dream right there.
That dream, I don’t think, will ever happen. I’m sort of impatient to get to the level described above.
My mom did sign me up for piano lessons when I was eight. She said to me in the coolest way she could muster (which wasn’t in the least), “You’re gonna be a groovy guy!” This led me to believe a Billy Preston-type figure in white pants, platform clogs, orange flowered shirt opened way too far, bling dangling in his chest hair, and sporting one huge afro would lay down the grooviness in my life.
I was sorely disappointed. The only thing off the charts about my instructor was his nerdiness. [sigh] Oh, well. At least she tried.
Eventually, I lost interest because I wasn’t being taught what I was hearing on the radio. My mom, God bless her, failed to properly explain to me the process of how to get there. Learning “Hot Cross Buns” was not my idea of “groovy.”
Wait… I thought this was about you learning to draw?
You would be right. I digress.
Another thing I envy is the ability to draw. All my kids have it, to some degree. At this point, the one that draws the worst is better than me. I’ve knocked around teaching myself, or at least applying myself to more consistent practice. I’ve already done this with poetry. And I’ve written some things people like. Today, when I put pen to paper to draw, sometimes the stars align and something decent appears.
But that’s rare.
Hopefully, not for much longer. You see, I was served the video below, made by Danny Gregory. The Google gods get it right sometimes. Take a look. It’s an engaging video and Danny talks about a huge change in his life. One he wasn’t expecting. One that spurred him on to learn to draw. One that led to healing.
Now he teaches others. He looks at drawing as a skill that can be taught - and that can be learned. He’s proof of it. And I was so inspired at what learning to draw can do for me, I signed up for one of his classes. I’m in need of some healing at this time in my life. I think drawing will be one way to heal.
I’m early on in the class, but I’ve posted a few drawings below. I plan to draw at least one thing for 100 days in a row. I have a feeling I won’t stop there.
500 words. Including these.
