There I was on a train, drawing Lucy dozing in a hammock, eyes closed and the woman next to me starts a conversation.
“Are you a professional artist?”
Interesting question. I pondered the possible meaning behind that – what does she mean by a professional artist? Does the word professional intend to distinguish me from a starving one, a hobbyist or something else?
Do I consider myself a ‘professional artist’? I still feel that choosing science at school over art means that I have no right to call myself an artist, professional or otherwise. Does the fact that I draw things and sometimes get paid for them make me a professional? I showed her my drawings and told her that I use them to illustrate my writing or speaking. Her “hmmm” told me she was expected a Yes or No answer.
She looked at Lucy in the hammock and suggested “you need to add some Zzzs to show she is asleep.” Now since I am not one for starting an argument with an elderly lady, who just happens to be the person who in a few minutes might be either stealing or guarding my iPad while I go to the toilet, I murmured some traitorous assent. I added them to the image with a flourish, so she knew that I had. Although I felt deep inside conflicted – I was selling out.
I don’t need to add Zzzs because other things are doing that work for me. Her closed eyes and drooping arm tell you that. And if they don’t, then I definitely should not be pretending to be any kind of, because clearly I would be a bit rubbish.
Not only that, but I don’t believe in spoon-feeding my audience. I treat them as intelligent human beings who can look at the image and interpret the scene, without me having to draw a neon sign over her head flashing “asleep”. This is not, after all, my husband looking for the margarine in the fridge (which would save alot of time if it came with a neon sign).
The minute her back was turned, I erased them.
You must be logged in to post a comment.