A new friend was recently in my studio and watched me do a little sketching as we talked. Their comment was one I’ve heard countless times through the years…. ‘I would give anything to be able to draw like that.’
This is something I have long pondered. Why are certain people able to do things so much better than others and consistently produce masterpiece after masterpiece, seemingly with little effort? Where is that magic to be found?
And this thought has inspired me to watch documentaries and read biographies of many people who have achieved greatness in their particular field. I’ve come to the conclusion that there are reoccurring tendencies. To me, it seems most were born with at least an inkling of talent or were around folks who provided inspiration. Each, without fail, has developed a true passion for their craft. Most surrounded themselves with people with similar interests. Some formally studied but many also achieved success through pure hard work and persistance.
Without fail, the people I have studied, practiced their craft incessantly, often by themselves, when no one else was watching. In by far the majority of cases ‘success’ was not instant, even if it appeared so from afar, but rather the result of long hours, dogged determination, and working against very long odds.
To the person who was in my studio watching me sketch ‘so effortlessly’, wishing they could do likewise, I directed their attention to my bookshelf beside my desk. On that shelf and in many other places throughout our studio, there were full sketchbooks from past decades. These books were literally filled with drawings, done with a ballpoint pen, as I practiced, dreamed up ideas for projects, sketched in idle hours on planes and in waiting rooms, and as I sat in my recliner in the evenings, ‘relaxing’ after a busy day at work. My computer hard drives hold just as many works done digitally on my drawing tablet. I draw endlessly and everywhere, for work, because I enjoy it, because I still need much more practice and because I simply have to try and record all of the ideas that fill my head. I believe those endless hours of constant drawing over almost seven decades has made me better with every passing day and it continues to this day.
I also tossed my friend a new, blank sketchbook, from a pile of spares I keep ready on my desk, to keep as his own. I firmly believe that their wish' ‘to draw like that’ is entirely possible.
