Sloppy birthday

I was going to start this party off with a selection from a pad of random drawings that span some time between elementary school and Jr. High. Some of them I actually like, believe it or not. It does happen. But when I went to find it, I discovered that it apparently never got unpacked after we moved.

In searching, I uncovered a treasure trove. In 5th grade, a classmate's parent came in for several weeks to give some basic drawing lessons. Actually, in violation of several laws I'm sure, she photocopied lessons from a book (specifically, a book by Mark Kistler, whose PBS show I've since seen) and went through them with us. It was great fun.

But, as you might have guessed by now, I suck. Which I didn't really mind. The things we were drawing were simple enough that even bad results were still results. But even then I could tell I was bad. With step-by-step instructions in front of me, and all the drawing paper I could ever need...well, ladies and gentleman, what you see is my best most earnest attempt at a birthday cake (Click here or on the pic for full size suckitude).

Some might tell me to not be so hard on myself. I was, afterall, only 11. And hey, it's not even all that bad, it's got style and flare. As to the latter, that's not style and flare. That implies intent. I certainly did not intend for my cake to have been baked by a retarded monkey, nor could I hope to reproduce said style and flare if I tried. Which brings me back to the former point namely that I just drew this. Right now, in the middle of composing this post. And yes, I tried. I tried hard.

I even whipped out the actual Mark Kistler birthday cake lesson, and came up with this gem. Didn't even bother decorating that one! 18 years later and look at my progression! And sadly, these kinds of rudimentary 3-d things are my favorite thing to doodle. So it's not like I haven't had practice over those 18 years.

So there you have it. Thanks for visiting. This one sketch pad I found is good for a dozen more posts at least, that's before I even find my favorite one. And I promise, I'll post the stuff I like too, I don't intend this to be all about me beating myself up. I'm really over the fact that I can't draw worth crap, but it hasn't stopped me from trying!