Back In The Day

I began drawing as a child sitting on the floor in front of my father's television set as he watched the Saturday night fights. I tried to draw the boxers and wrestlers as they squared off in the ring. There were no art instructors in our small rural town and all I had was typing paper and a 2B pencil. Drawing kept me quiet and out of the way so my parents were happy, and I was happy too as I tried to draw the men in their stances.   

Despite my lack of training and exposure to art, I eventually found myself entering the university in the sixties and studying art as a major. Many of the students were from cities, some had even studied at the Art Institute in Chicago, so I was a green horn, a hick from the sticks who had a lot to learn.  A little intimidated at first, once I began to draw in the Life Drawing classes, I relaxed and felt at home. I went on to study a variety of different media, art theory and history. I loved it all.  The four years I spent there were splendid, perhaps the most wondrous years of my life - an experience for which I will forever be grateful. 

Back In The Day. Mixed Media on Tinted Paper. 9 x 12. 2017. Drawn from a photo of Jeff Barsky taken back in the day.