July 4, 2019 - News Post

When I was growing up, I had a friend named Mark. He showed up in my class somewhere around second grade.

Before his arrival, I was the best artist I knew. No one drew Transformers like me. No one.

But Mark... he could draw better.

This was a tremendous blow to my ego. No matter how hard I tried, I could not compete with the shading, the line work, or the technical skill of that 8-year-old. In my desperation to outdo him, I spent nearly an hour on a single drawing (a feat I have yet to repeat to this day). But I was outmatched by the work he did in minutes.

There was no getting around it. He drew transformers with the dexterity of an 11-year-old. This ignited a rivalry that would last years.

Well, two years.

To be fair, he was a nice, cool kid. We were bitter rivals, yet still friends. And in forth grade, we both tied in a statewide art competition. As a prize, our works were displayed in the New York State Museum. (This was a competition for children-- don’t be too impressed)

It was the most impressive thing you could ever imagine.

After driving five hours with both sets of parents, we finally got to see our works. My drawing was goofy and cartoonish. His looked like something MC Escher would have done on a good day. Yet, his wasn’t the best piece of art there. Not even close.

It turned out, there were a hell of a lot more talented kids out there. They were everywhere, admiring their own work in the museum.

I realized in that moment that I had no need to be jealous of his work, no need to compete. I could never match the talents of all those kids.

However, I could be the best “me” I could be. I could develop my own style, my own look, my own unique talents.

Mark didn’t learn that lesson. He took it differently. Looking around, he seemed defeated. We went home, and he seemed sad. To the best of my knowledge, Mark never drew much after that. It was kind of a waste. I moved away shortly afterwards, and lost track after high school.

It’s amazing how much things change.

I guess the point of my story is: Just look at how well I drew those babies in panel four!!! Do you think I’ve ever drawn a baby before in my life??? I probably have, but it’s been a while. Do you think I traced those? No! I drew them from memory! And damn, those are two amazing little doodles that any artist should be proud... no, honored... to have drawn. I hope you’re jealous, Mark, because you should be!!! Bet you wish you kept practicing now!

-Jeff