Learning to draw at 75 years old.
It’s my aging creme.
It’s not to be confused with anti-aging cream. In fact, it requires a skill I’ve only acquired with age: persistence.
Notions of anti-aging and face masks and expensive creams seem a bit foolish, showing up with expensive riding outfit after the horse has long left the barn.
My aging cream is learning something new on a regular, daily basis, no matter for 5 minutes or for 60, which leads me to improve no matter where I start.
Getting better at something rather than white knuckle grasping onto skills, looks, and abilities once flexible and so taken for granted to be unconscious, is a relief. It stands out in my 24/7.
How many times have you heard that phrase deeded to Picasso, that all children are artists but the problem is once they grow up those skills disappear? Certainly, in my case, having many artistic and creative impulses, my drawing skills were never on the radar nor do I ever remember anyone encouraging me to do paintings or drawings.
So, I would hear the above phrase and think of a phrase from Holden Caulfield:
“It’s partly true, too, but it isn’t all true. People always think something’s all true.”
Holden Caulfield
So, this is why I decided to draw something every day for the foreseeable future.
- Not because I am an artist reclaiming my artistry
- Not because I have any aspirations of developing a commercial skill
I am learning to draw at 75 because I can see if I do it every day, I am getting better. It makes me laugh when I simply can’t draw a bicycle. It doesn’t make me anxious or fearful as it does when I realize all the things I can’t physically do anymore. It gives me a slice of joy that is timeless. Not because I am going on to be a fine artist exhibiting at the MFA, I am not delusional, just grateful.
I enjoy getting a little bit better day after day.
For now, it’s a feeling I crave and can do. I am dealing with a reality that doesn’t yet need a remedy. In fact, it requires persistence which I acquired over the span of my lifetime and was not a youthful trait!
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