The day before class last Saturday one of our members called to ask if her husband might take her place as she had another commitment. I’ve met her husband many times socially. Scott’s a lovely man and a consultant, as it turns out, to government agencies. I knew he drew very little and I expected we ladies would offer encouragement.
Scott arrived at class and the ladies all welcomed him. This Saturday I’d decided we’d work on our life drawing skills. Most of the members of the class are more comfortable with drawing from nature but I think we need to be comfortable, fearless even, in drawing everything.
I posed and they drew. Afterwards when I went around to see what they’d done I discovered Scott had done the most beautifully rendered, accurate drawings. The ladies, meanwhile, were aghast at the way the proportions in their drawings had gone distinctly overboard. Then we did an exercise of drawing from our heads. Again everyone struggled, save for Scott. He drew a series of imaginative, bang-on portraits, more full of character than the ones I, the teacher, drew.
I asked Scott if he drew often. No, not since childhood, he said, but then he’d spent hours making carefully rendered drawings. Clearly drawing is like riding a bicycle, wherever you get with it stays with you.
Meanwhile the ladies were feeling, I think, a little frustrated. In fact, some of their drawings became less confident as the morning went on. What does it mean when we’re confronted with someone whose skills are more developed and appear to have been effortlessly acquired? Can we still assert ourselves and march boldly forward? Or do we shrink?
So, I’m thanking Scott for giving us the opportunity to march boldly forward. In the ladies’ drawings it was plain to see spirit and strength emerging because they kept trying despite discouragement. That’s just as important as what our drawings look like and far, far more touching.
