Drawing in Downtown

Yesterday, my friend Beth invited me to downtown Greenville so we could pick a pretty spot to draw something. She had taken on a summer project to draw every day and today, she chose downtown. Once I met up with her, we found a nice seat that was only a few meters away from this black fountain that she wanted to draw.

We chatted as we drew (she sketched with colored pencils, I did my entire drawing in grey) and I learned lots about her. Beth even commented that we have a lot in common, and we do. We like to talk about art, architecture, sewing, all kinds of stuff. I miss conversations like this.

Beth also said something that interested me. She talked about how she knew a guy who was a terrible artist, but he practiced a lot and soon, he began to surpass her (and Beth is as talented as they come). She said that lots of practice can make someone much more skilled at something and that not all great works of art are reliant on talent or natural-born skill alone. That gave me hope. I had given up drawing and illustration when I was 13, but hearing this made me re-think things. Besides, I like this idea of drawing something every day so I think I'll take up the practice myself. I have two months of summer left so let's see what I can do with it.

By the time I came home, my stomach was rumbling. In my excitement to meet up with her, I had forgotten to eat something before I left. In any case, my mother had arrived home from work and had cooked noodles. I showed her the fountain I drew and she said, "Who drew that? YOU drew that? Huh, who thought my daughter could draw?"

"Thanks, Mom," I reply, but I was soon too busy devouring noodles to comment any further.