My daughter did this in a half hour

[surfstix1963]

I had this shirt on that I just thought was cool(I like bulldogs) and my daughter for fathers day while she was here drew it for me (took her about a half hour I couldn't trace it in that time) in charcoal it came out excellent she is going to college for art I guess drawing on the walls w/ crayons all the time when she was younger is starting to pay off.She wants to be an art teacher or get into graphic designing.

[DarkSkies]

That's intense! Amazing detail, and the facial features are awesome. Could be the beginning of a TV cartoon series, (or just a tribute to Dad the OLD DOG! )

Pebbles and I were just talking about skills like this the other day. There's actually an illustrator's school in Wayne NJ, maybe your daughter would consider checking something like that out in addition to college if there is one near you guys.

Illustrators and graphic designers can make 80k or more /year. Disney is always hiring, plus all the internet game companies. Her future looks bright, I hope for the best for her.

You can't learn something like that, you either have it or you don't. And she definitely has talent.

[finchaser]

This must be a tribute to old dogs if not, either way it's great

[surfstix1963]

That's intense! Amazing detail, and the facial features are awesome. Could be the beginning of a TV cartoon series, (or just a tribute to Dad the OLD DOG! )

Pebbles and I were just talking about skills like this the other day. There's actually an illustrator's school in Wayne NJ, maybe your daughter would consider checking something like that out in addition to college if there is one near you guys.

Illustrators and graphic designers can make 80k or more /year. Disney is always hiring, plus all the internet game companies. Her future looks bright, I hope for the best for her.


You can't learn something like that, you either have it or you don't. And she definitely has talent.

You got that right when she first started drawing it Kam and I were looking at each other likethen she started all the shading and we were likeshes a good kid for 19 Thank God she has the sense not to listen to her mother who keeps on telling her after community college your on your own,I'll do everything possible to get her through college and make her dreams come true you can't throw talent out the window these days so I keep reassuring her to pursue her passions and don't let anything get in your way otherwise you will end up in a dead end job and you won't be happy.Thats a good idea OGB/OLD DOGS CLUB President/Surfstix taking applications. I'll put the pic up of the shirt so you can see the canvas.

[rip316]

That's totally awesome.

[speedy]

I had this shirt on that I just thought was cool(I like bulldogs) and my daughter for fathers day while she was here drew it for me (took her about a half hour I couldn't trace it in that time) in charcoal it came out excellent she is going to college for art I guess drawing on the walls w/ crayons all the time when she was younger is starting to pay off.She wants to be an art teacher or get into graphic designing.

thats great AA ++

[surfstix1963]

Thanks all now if I can get her to do my airbrushing that would be good or maybe she can teach me a thing or two about shading and layering colors.

[clamchucker]

It looks like she has some ability. Good luck, she might be able to get a nice job after college.

[surfstix1963]

Thanks hopefully there will be a job market when she graduates.

[hookset]

Very creative, cool.

[bluesdude71]

She has a great talent. She should keep following her dreams. There a lots of scholarships out there for people like her. Tell her to go to your local library to look them up.

[vpass]

That is beautiful work. definitly talented.

[surfstix1963]

Thanks will do Blues dude.

[rip316]

Surfstix, My 14 year old son is also a very talented artist. I asked him to draw that same pic knowing that he could do it but, all he wants to do is play games on the computer. I keep telling him he is wasting his talent and should keep drawing and all it does is start an argument. Congrats to your daughter. Keep up the good work.

[DarkSkies]

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink, Rip. It's sad that people are so stubborn sometimes. They only see what they want to see.

I had a response to this thread the other day, but didn't want to make it long-winded.

Throughout life I have known people who had some great artistic talent and never did much with it.

1.There was a friend in JR High, great caricature and comic artist, went on to become a teacher, he never did anything with the art.

2. Another friend we used to party with. He was naturally talented, got kinda famous for airbrushing the blue jean jackets we wore back then.

He did "Eddy" from Iron Maiden for me, fantastic detail. He was doing it before anyone else even thought of it. He never did anything with it after HS. He went on to become a prison guard. We lost touch, he died a few years ago from an accidental OD of pills and booze. Left behind a wife and son, I went to his funeral.

3. The latest one was the nephew of one of my workers. He has a great talent, he makes up these amazing comic book characters, draws them freehand, no copying, totally original. Pebbles and I tried to get him into the Arts High School in Newark. His grades weren't good enough, so they wouldn't take him despite our writing a letter and trying to make the intro with some teacher who might have pushed for him.

Fast forward, he now has a girlfriend and son, and is working at Wal-Mart. He could have been a comic or TV fantasy character illustrating prodigy, if only he was more motivated.




In the end, it's also about luck, perseverance, and making the right connections to get work. You have to want to learn technology because talent is just the beginning. Computer animation is a hot field now, among others, and it seems that the people who don't want to learn computers or further their skills along that path have less of a chance.

That's not the only path though, there are others. Rip, sorry to hear your son's not motivated. Working at McDonald's could be enough of a push to motivate him, maybe not. It's good for kids to see the difficult jobs out there, and then make their own decisions to pursue something they have a talent at that's more lucrative.

Surfstix, your daughter has that raw ability, the natural talent, that someone needs to succeed artistically. What she does with it is up to her. Didn't mean to hijack the thread, but I wanted to explain why I feel so passionately about kids pursuing their natural talents, and not giving up. I've known too many people who only went at it halfway, gave up, and settled for something else.

I think to myself, if only they had pushed a little harder, they could have had different lives. If your daughter ever doubts her abilities, please show her this thread. I hope she doesn't give up. She definitely has the raw talent she needs to really make something of herself, if she's willing to also cultivate the connections and be persistent.

The best of luck to her.

[DarkSkies]

Surfstix, your daughter has that raw ability, the natural talent, that someone needs to succeed artistically. What she does with it is up to her.
I think to myself, if only they had pushed a little harder, they could have had different lives. If your daughter ever doubts her abilities, please show her this thread. I hope she doesn't give up. She definitely has the raw talent she needs to really make something of herself, if she's willing to also cultivate the connections and be persistent.

The best of luck to her.

Surfstix, I was searching for a non-HTML version of an e-mail you sent me so I could post it. Came across this. Kinda corny, but still an inspiration. Thought I would post it here, if ya didn't mind.

This is a true story and it will give you the chills.

This is a beautiful and touching story of love and
perseverance. Well worth the read.
At the prodding of my friends I am writing this story. My name is Mildred Honor and I am a former elementary school music teacher from Des Moines, Iowa. I have always supplemented my income by teaching piano lessons - something I have done for over 30 years.

During those years I found that children have many levels of musical ability,and even though I have never had the pleasure of having a prodigy, I have taught some very talented students.;
However, I have also had my share of what I call 'musically challenged' pupils - one such pupil being Robby.

Robby was 11 years old when his mother (a single mom)
dropped him off for his first piano lesson. I prefer that
students (especially boys) begin at an earlier age, which I explained to Robby. But Robby said that it had always been his mother's dream to hear him play the piano, so I took him as a student.

Well, Robby began his piano lessons and from the beginning I thought it was a hopeless endeavour. As much as Robby tried, he lacked the sense of tone and basic rhythm needed to excel.
But he dutifully reviewed his scales and some elementary piano pieces that I require all my students to learn.

Over the months he tried and tried while I listened and cringed and tried to encourage him. At the end of each weekly lesson he would always say 'My mom's going to hear me play someday'. But to me, it seemed hopeless, he just did not have
any inborn ability.
I only knew his mother from a distance as she dropped Robby off or waited in her aged car to pick him up. She always waved and smiled, but never dropped in.

Then one day Robby stopped coming for his lessons. I thought about calling him, but assumed that because of his lack of ability he had decided to pursue something else. I was also
glad that he had stopped coming - he was a bad advertisement
for my teaching!

Several weeks later I mailed a flyer recital to the students' homes.To my surprise, Robby (who had received a flyer) asked me if he could be in the recital. I told him that the
recital was for current pupils and that because he had dropped
out, he really did not qualify. He told me that his mother had
been sick and unable to take him to his piano lessons, but that
he had been practicing. 'Please Miss Honor, I've just got to
play' he insisted. I don't know what led me to allow him to play
in the recital - perhaps it was his insistence or maybe
something inside of me saying that it would be all right

The night of the recital came and the high school gymnasium was packed with parents, relatives and friends. I put Robby last in the program, just before I was to come up and thank all the students and play a finishing piece. I thought that any
damage he might do would come at the end of the program and
I could always salvage his poor performance through my 'curtain
closer'.

Well, the recital went off without a hitch, the students had been practicing and it showed. Then Robby came up on the stage.
His clothes were wrinkled and his hair looked as though he
had run an egg beater through it. 'Why wasn't he dressed up
like the other students?' I thought. 'Why didn't his mother at
least make him comb his hair for this special night?'

Robby pulled out the piano bench, and I was surprised when he announced that he had chosen to play Mozart's Concerto No. 21 in C Major. I was not prepared for what I heard next. His fingers were light on the keys, they even danced nimbly on the ivories. He went from pianissimo to fortissimo, from allegro to virtuoso; his suspended chords that Mozart demands were magnificent! Never had I heard Mozart played so well by
anyone his age.

After six and a half minutes he ended in a grand crescendo, and everyone was on their feet in wild applause! Overcome and in tears, I ran up on stage and put my arms around Robby in joy.

'I have never heard you play like that Robby, how did you do it?' Through the microphone Robby explained: 'Well, Miss Honor ....remember I told you that my mom was sick? Well, she actually had cancer and passed away this morning. And well ..... she was born deaf, so tonight was the first time she had ever heard me play, and I wanted to make it special.'

There wasn't a dry eye in the house that evening.
As the people from Social Services led Robby from the stage to
be placed in to foster care, I noticed that even their eyes were
red and puffy. I thought to myself then how much richer my life
had been for taking Robby as my pupil. No, I have never had a
prodigy, but that night I became a prodigy .... of Robby. He was
the teacher and I was the pupil, for he had taught me the
meaning of perseverance and love and believing in yourself, and
may be even taking a chance on someone and you didn't know
why.

Robby was killed years later in the senseless bombing of the Alfred P. Murray Federal Building in Oklahoma City in April, 1995

So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice -Do we act with compassion or do we pass up that opportunity and leave the world a bit colder in the process?

...for if God didn't have a purpose for us, we wouldn't be here!

[rip316]

My job is head of maintenance for the Roselle Park school district. I have both of my older sons working as custodians for the summer. Real back breakin work. We do not abuse the kids in the program but, they have duties to do. Such as moving furniture and cleaning. I told all of the kids the day I hired them that they should not look at this summer job as just a way to make money. They should take a good hard look at some of the guys that have been there for 20 plus years doing this kind of work and that they should take advantage of seeing what will happen to you if you do not get good grades and take advantage of the life that has been given to them. Trust me being a janitor sux. They way we run the district now custodians no longer sleep in the boiler room. Trust me.
I can only hope they heed my advise and figure out what they want to do with there life and not ruin it.

[surfstix1963]

You know RIP before my sons football game I was talking to my daughter and when she was around 14 I sat her down and told her I want one thing from you and that is to get a good education and not screw up and ruin that you have your whole life to party and I know we all did it but I explained it to her again yesterday I don't want to see you get pregnant and end up w/ a dead end job so to speak not that I'm bashing custodians or dock builders for that matter but I believe you know what our bodies feel like after 20 yrs. of physical labor.She understands me and reassured me she will do her best my parents could not afford college dad died when I was 12 so off to work at 15 summer job custodian,then lumber yards,tree work and finally dock building I'm 47 I feel like I'm 80 so maybe your son needs to be led into it by telling him or showing what his drawing skills can do for the making of those video games, keep reassuring him he is great it goes a long way my son is into those damn video games to but he does love his football BTW they won 17-0 yesterday it was a long drive sore back but worth every minute of it.I won't keep rambling but most kids today need to be pushed a little harder its just a fine line that needs to be handled delicately.

[rip316]

I am glad your son won his game. Thank you for the advise. I will try a little harder to push him to what he is good at. We can only pray for the best for our children.

[DarkSkies]

Rip, you're a good Dad, there aren't too many people out there who would have taken on all that family responsibility that you did, all to make a better life for them.

One of the valuable lessons that I've learned, and am still learning, is that it's hard to "push" a child into the right field that fits them. Even if he does show aptitude, sometimes the conversations from the parents can be overbearing, and may even turn them off.

I really believe Tiger Woods' dad is the exception. I don't know how he saw potential in his son when Tiger was 5, but somehow he did, and today Tiger is probably one of the most talented golfers in the world.

I think there's a fine like between providing that motivation to children, and being overbearing. I'm still learning where the definition of that line begins, and ends.

The best way I know to motivate is to give them encouragement when you see the talent. Try to connect them with others who have the same talent. And your strategy of showing them what a life of manual labor could be is an excellent one.

There's nothing wrong with manual labor, or working hard. A long time ago, my Dad tried to teach me to "work with your brain, not with your back, shoulders, knees, etc."

That was said because both he and his brothers ruined their knees from years in construction.

You'll do the right thing, bro.