I (used to) love drawing

As a kid, I used to draw all the time. My earliest memory of drawing was with my cousin David and we would always draw Spectreman. I remember the gold crayon was the most worn down since that's all we ever drew. If you never heard of Spectreman, it was very similar to Ultraman in which you have a giant super hero battling monsters on a cheaply-built miniature city set. Being filmed in the 80's, the show probably had ground-breaking stunts and effects but it looks really cheesy if you watch it today.

Later in life, I started watching Secret City on PBS which starred Commander Mark who would teach you how to draw, albeit only shapes. I didn't care for his other cast members like the unconfirmed gay robot Zebtron and those creepy alien arms that dangled down from Commander Mark's easel that had a voice very similar to that of Elmo. My favorite part was at the end of the show where he would add something to his mural. This show taught me how to proficiently draw 3D cylinders, cones, and cubes.




When I was 12 years old, I discovered Bob Ross on PBS. His gentle voice and/or impressive white man afro got me hooked. I persuaded my mom to buy me paint supplies and I started painting right along side with him. There was no way I could keep up with him so I made sure the VCR was ready to record once the show came on. I always thought it was interesting that his colors were so specific like Prussian blue and Van Dyke brown. If I had gone to a store to ask for some Van Dyke brown paint, the staff would probably be clueless unless they too watched The Joy of Painting. R.I.P. Bob Ross.

One of my many Bob Ross paintings (1992)

In junior high and high school I had taken art classes, which never really taught me anything but it was great doing what you love for a grade. The next best thing would have been playing video games for grades. I stopped drawing around my senior year of high school as other interests stole my attention.

My last drawings (1998)

Jacob has always liked to write and draw but just recently I made it a point to have "art time" and I would sit down with him to encourage and help him. I showed him my Ed Emberley books, which teaches you step-by-step how to draw simple cartoon animals, people, etc. These are the same books I used when I was a kid and it's crazy to see him using the very same books.

Solar system. (crappy scanning by my part)