My brother and I are also three years apart, and I am the firstborn, but we can both draw.
My brother is a professional cartoonist and animator. He draws the monstrous, the grotesque, the silly, all so stunningly and effortlessly, all from his head. Whereas I am the precise one, defined by subtleties and a need to "prettify" everything I see. I am not a professional artist, but he is. I long to be a writer, in fact, and sometimes I wish my parents would stop preferring I draw for a living, which is what they've always wished and what I've always fought against. No one seems to believe I can write around here, but they stare in disbelief at my drawings. Which is the better trick?
Our situations are not the same, but they seem parallel, I think. I certainly know how it feels to be pushed into a niche and denied escape.
♥
Btw, you are a stunning writer. I thought of David Sedaris before you even mentioned his name (and then laughed out loud when you did).
Our situations are not the same, but they seem parallel, I think. I certainly know how it feels to be pushed into a niche and denied escape.
*nods* It's funny, parenting magazines (which I have an odd tendency to read) and parenting books nowadays often list "giving your kid a label - the athlete, the artist, etc." as one of the top ten things NOT to do when trying to build "your child's natural confidence." I've seen it several times now. Where were those magazine tips ten years ago? Hah.
(This seems to be coinciding, incidentally with a period of time when kids are being pushed more than they ever were. I read a book called "Hothouse Kids" a few months back which had some alarming stats on the rates at which the sales of products intended to increase your kid's IQ, chess talent, art talent, music talent, etc. are increasing year by year.)
I long to be a writer, in fact, and sometimes I wish my parents would stop preferring I draw for a living, which is what they've always wished and what I've always fought against.Oh, and I left
( ... )
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My brother is a professional cartoonist and animator. He draws the monstrous, the grotesque, the silly, all so stunningly and effortlessly, all from his head. Whereas I am the precise one, defined by subtleties and a need to "prettify" everything I see. I am not a professional artist, but he is. I long to be a writer, in fact, and sometimes I wish my parents would stop preferring I draw for a living, which is what they've always wished and what I've always fought against. No one seems to believe I can write around here, but they stare in disbelief at my drawings. Which is the better trick?
Our situations are not the same, but they seem parallel, I think. I certainly know how it feels to be pushed into a niche and denied escape.
♥
Btw, you are a stunning writer. I thought of David Sedaris before you even mentioned his name (and then laughed out loud when you did).
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*nods* It's funny, parenting magazines (which I have an odd tendency to read) and parenting books nowadays often list "giving your kid a label - the athlete, the artist, etc." as one of the top ten things NOT to do when trying to build "your child's natural confidence." I've seen it several times now. Where were those magazine tips ten years ago? Hah.
(This seems to be coinciding, incidentally with a period of time when kids are being pushed more than they ever were. I read a book called "Hothouse Kids" a few months back which had some alarming stats on the rates at which the sales of products intended to increase your kid's IQ, chess talent, art talent, music talent, etc. are increasing year by year.)
I long to be a writer, in fact, and sometimes I wish my parents would stop preferring I draw for a living, which is what they've always wished and what I've always fought against.Oh, and I left ( ... )
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