Another story back from my school days—and how can I not speak about those good old days, because that is where the journey actually began.
Who ever took art classes seriously?? Drawing class was more or less a name given to a free, fun class, where most kids scribbled quickly and then engaged in naughty, fun activities. And not to mention, our drawing sir couldn’t care less.
I remember he would come to class and write a subject on the blackboard; usually, it was either “A Rainy Day” or “A Flower Pot” or some such thing. I had never seen our Sir actually teach or even draw himself.
This was when I was probably in the sixth or seventh grade. Sir came in as usual and wrote the subject for the day on the board. And as expected, it was “A Flower Pot.” Most kids scribbled something in their books and then just did their own thing. I, on my part, very seriously painted what I thought was the best version of a flower pot and then showed it to Sir. Sir took a look at the pot, but did not say a word; instead, for the first time, he took a paper and colors and painted a flower pot for me to see.
When I saw his painting, I was zapped and inspired. It suddenly opened my eyes to what more was possible. I decided I could do better, so off I went home and painted an even better flower pot, and then showed it to Sir in the next class. He gave an approving nod but did not say a word. The next day, he brought back the most beautiful picture of a flower pot I have ever seen. It was made with watercolors, and I must say it had the softest colors. What was most impressive was the fact that the flower pot was created with just a few simple strokes. What a beauty that was!! That is the first time I realized that this teacher of ours, who we had seen as just a teacher, was actually a very amazing artist, who for some reason didn’t really show it at all.
The point of the story though is what I learnt from this whole painting jam. I knew I had talent, but he showed me what real mastery looked like. By revealing the incredible artist behind the teacher, he gave me a new benchmark to chase. He didn’t need to teach me how to draw; he just inspired me to do better.