in the beginning.

I started sketching when I was 3-years-old. My dad, when he would get home from work, would sit in his recliner at the end of the day, pull out his sketchbook and start drawing. As a child I would always try to recreate what he drew (which wasn't always the best idea. I found a picture of a nude woman that he had sketched and I recreated that drawing on my grandmother's chalkboard when I was a little kid. That was a phone call my parents were not expecting).

In grade school, I sketched in class so much that it started to become a distraction and my teachers asked my mom to make sure I didn't bring my sketchbook to school. Every morning after that, my mom had to do a backpack check, and I was not too happy about it.

Luckily for me, there was nothing they could do if I wanted to draw on my homework :)

I practiced sketching a lot growing up. I had days where I could sit and draw for hours on end, then there were times when I could go months without opening my sketchbook. I'm the same way today. Even still, I can see my skills improving all the time.

I'm nowhere near what I would consider a "professional" artist to be, but that doesn't matter. It's something that relaxes me and something I enjoy, and it saddens me that so many people decide not to draw, or paint, or even sculpt, because they don't think they're good at it. Practice makes perfect, but even if your aspirations don't include becoming a professional artist, I urge everyone to pick up a pencil and give it a go :)

Photo from The Fresh Hues Blog