20 minutes of practice a day will change your life, that’s what he said. So that’s what I’m going to do. I’m not sure what I did yesterday was right, since I practiced drawing head and cones, but I spent more than 20 minutes. He also said your practice has to be meaningful, which I tried to make it also. I think if I keep reading my books on anatomy for artists as well as practicing, it will help to keep it meaningful and not something akin to doodling.
Now that I mention doodling, I am reminded of an evening where I was seated next to the superintendent of schools during a school board meeting while I was serving on the board. I was doodling, just drawing the water bottle that sat in front of me on the table. I was never big on taking notes, something I always considered a great flaw of mine, but I figured people would think that’s just what I was doing, taking notes, if I doodled during meetings. I didn’t usually sit next to the superintendent, it just so happened I was at this one so I decided that wouldn’t deter me from my routine. At that time, I was working as a Graphic Designer and I was chairman of the Technology committee for the school board. In those days, and maybe to a lesser degree today, people thought that technology and creativity were divergent areas of knowledge. As a graphic designer, I had to be good at both. But perception being everything, the superintend had made assumptions because of my interest in driving the push for more technology in schools.
Towards the end of the meeting, he looked over at my drawing and said “You’re in the wrong line of work.” I just smiled at him thinking both that maybe someday he would see that technology isn’t just for engineers and accountants and maybe someday I would be able to practice my art full time.
