Learning

There were times when I felt that my sketchbook was inadequate. There are so many things I don't know about creating art, and so many skills I don't possess. Choosing to draw, when I haven't drawn anything since middle school art class, was extremely challenging. 

I worried about copying the work of other artists. While it's OK to attempt to draw the tree outside my window, drawing someone else's rendition of a tree felt wrong. I felt like I was cheating. 

I fretted about what people looking at my sketchbook would think. Would they think I was ripping off the work of more talented artists? Would they understand the gratitude I felt toward the people who created the works that inspired me to try? Would they empathise with the joy that I felt in my fumbling attempts and my novice results?

Scary.

Fortunately, comfort can be found in the strangest places. Like the drug store. I was looking for a birthday card for my nephew when this magazine caught my eye. 

"Learn by Copying"

My choices for my sketchbook were immediately validated. I am learning after all. I would have never guessed that copying is an acceptable way to learn. Relief.

Hubby had great way of looking at it. He compared drawing to music. It's acceptable for musicians to learn by playing cover tunes. My drawings are my cover tunes. Like a guitar player practising with songs of musicians she admires, I'm practising with drawings of artists I admire. 

I married a very wise man.  

I didn't read the article after seeing the cover. I don't think I want to. There's a chance that I'm misinterpreting the message, and as my interpretation makes me happy, I'm sticking with it.