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Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Talent Vs Persistence at Big Bear Lake


Sometimes, the weather at Big Bear Lake could be charitable.



Other days, it could be distinctly unkind.



But throughout all those sketching sessions, I enjoyed sitting in the car, and observing how it changed. (Okay, I didn't enjoy feeling cramped, or cold, but I did enjoy the view outside).



People sometimes tell me that I am talented. But I remember, all too well, how my Freshman Art teacher in High School always took issues with my efforts, and gave me a C in her class. I remember how my father always counseled me against pursuing art in favor of a real, paying career. Eventually, lacking any encouragement, art and I parted company. Oh, I pursued various hobbies, making crafts and simple projects, and gifts for friends and family. But never really attempted to create anything, which is the essence of art. At least not until recently, when my wife rediscovered the joy of sketching, and urged me to give it a try.


In the movie "Eddie The Eagle," Michael Edwards sits atop the ninety meter ramp at the Olympics. He's never attempted such an ambitious jump before. As he sits there, the commentators and observers wonder if he's freezing up. His allotted time is ticking away. Yet as he stares down the slope, what passes through his mind is all the people who told him he couldn't do this, and that he didn't deserve to be there. Then he launches himself off the ramp, and makes a new Olympic Ski Jump record for England.

I need to remember that.

Dragon Dave

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