Last October I ran a small drawing session at my local library. Eleven people, mostly beginners, one folding table, and a stack of copy paper. I gave them what I thought was a simple warm-up: draw a...

The first pumpkin I ever decorated with markers looked incredible for about four hours. I'd drawn a whole constellation across it with a set of regular felt tips, thin white stars over the orange,...

A student sent me a drawing two Octobers ago and asked why it wasn't scary. She'd done everything right on paper. Cobwebs in the corners, a bat crossing the moon, a ghost floating in an upstairs...

The first cat I ever drew looked like a potato with ears. I was maybe seven, hunched over a scrap of paper, absolutely certain it would come out perfect. It did not. But here's the thing I wish...

I labeled an entire set of storage bins with a Sharpie once. Neat, clear, color-coded. Looked great. Two weeks later - gone. Not faded. Gone. The plastic looked like I'd never touched it. That's...

There's a quiet fear that keeps a lot of talented people from ever taking their art seriously. It sounds like this: "I never went to art school, so am I even allowed to call myself an artist?" I felt...