How about a battleship...

"What should we do today?"

"Does Mobzilla look exactly like Godzilla?" he asked.

"I don't know. Let me look it up," I said casually. I actually had no idea what he was talking about, but I didn't want to seem out of touch. "No, he doesn't look the same to me." I handed him the iPhone.

After browsing for a while, he suggested, "How about the Ender Dragon?"

"What's that?" I asked. I don't know much about Minecraft.

"You'll see."

Before he showed me, however, he switched gears and suggested, "How about a battleship?"

We had done a funky artistic rendition of a battleship back in September, but I figured why not try another. I think he picked this scene because of all the action in it. It all took a lot longer than I expected it to. Plus, I found it difficult to manage the proportions and perspective. This is one where I was happy to put the Sharpie down and call it finished.

Bugs Bunny at the Beach

"Any ideas today?"

"I know we have time for this because we woke up at the same time."

"What is it?"

"The Empire State."

"But I've already done The Empire State."

"I know, but I want to see the cool buildings."

"I know, but I don't want to do something that I've already done."

"Okay then, a birthday cake."

"I've already done a birthday cake. I want to do something new."

"Okay, Bugs Bunny."

I was about to say, "I've already done Bugs Bunny," but I refrained. I have a soft spot for the Looney Tunes characters and I knew he'd pick something wildly different than what I did last time with Daffy in it too.

I ran a search and right away he picked this complex scene of Bugs at the beach next to a VW Beetle. I really wasn't sure I had enough time and gave him a look that meant, "Find something easier!" He searched for a different one, but claimed he couldn't find anything else he liked.

"Please, can you do this one?"

"I'll try." 

Perhaps because I didn't draw much growing up, haven't drawn at all during adulthood, and don't ever doodle, it still amazes me that I start with a blank sack and after 20 minutes there's a whole scene drawn that isn't half bad. I guess a couple hundred bags so far has given me some practice. It definitely stresses me out to be so pressed for time, but I do enjoy the challenge.

Cruise Ship

"Any ideas for the snack sack today?"

Silence.

"Victor, any ideas for the snack sack today?"

Silence.

"Victor."

"I'm having trouble thinking of anything."

"Come on, you can think of something."

"I'm the brainstormer, right?"

"Yeah! Let's pick a category. Do you want to do animals, places, things, buildings,...?"

"I want to do buildings. Something cool that we've already done. Like maybe the Empire State?"

"I don't think I'll have time for that."

"Oh, then you probably won't have time for the tallest building in the world."

"No, and besides, I like to do new stuff."

After searching around for some time on Google image search, we somehow ended up with this simple cruise ship.

I didn't care for the finished drawing too much myself, but he had unusually high praise for it when he saw it. "This I really like. It looks exactly like that," he said pointing to the reference.

Titanic Sinking

"Any ideas for today?"

"I just got one," he said lying, still looking around the room for an idea. After a few moments, he said, "You know, instead of the Starbucks thing, the Jamba Juice thing." We also have a clear Jamba Juice straw-cup similar to the clear Starbucks straw-cup he used as inspiration yesterday to suggest the Starbucks Mermaid.

"I've already done Jamba Juice," I reminded him.

"You have?"

"Yeah."

I showed him the picture. "Ooh, I like it," he said.

I could tell he wasn't in the mood to brainstorm so I made my own suggestion, "How about the Titanic?"

"Yeah!" he exclaimed. He's been fascinated by the Titanic from the very first time he heard the story. He's watched a ton of YouTube videos about it. I'm kind of surprised he's never suggested that I draw it. He took a long while picking one, but eventually we settled on this shot of the Titanic sinking.

He finished his breakfast, brushed his teeth, and then as if he suddenly remembered what I was drawing, he ran around the corner shouting, "I want to see! I want to see!" He studied the picture and the drawing. "What are all those dots?"

"Debris."

"What's debris?"

"You know, pieces of the ship and ash and stuff."

"Oh, ash!"

"Yup."

"Cool. The Titanic's pretty cool Daddy," he said gleefully. I always feel somewhat sad thinking about the Titanic, but I had to agree with him. The Titanic's pretty cool.

Surfer Dude

His class had a field trip planned to the pumpkin patch today so I wasn't packing a snack. They asked us to put his lunch in a clear gallon sized Ziploc bag. I didn't expect to draw anything, but as I was about to fill the Ziploc, I saw that the Capri Sun juice bag had this cool surfer dude on it. I decided to see how quickly I could sketch him onto the bag. I didn't even sit down. It took me all of 3 minutes.

"Are you drawing a surfer?" he asked, reaching up onto the table, looking over toward the opposite end where I was standing.

"Yup!"

"Oh, cool!"

Once again, just like yesterday, I found that drawing even a little something felt better than drawing nothing at all.

A Sunset

A Sunset

"What'll it be today?" I asked.

"A sunset." 

Where does he get his ideas from? I wondered. They often seem random. "Oh, that's going to be hard because it needs colors and stuff," I said mostly dismissing the idea.

"Why don't you use colors?" he asked.

"Because I don't have that much time. It's hard enough as is to make the time to draw something every day," I answered honestly. I did a search and handed him my iPhone.

He picked a vivid sunset and said, "Here, just do your best."

I took one look at it and said, "No, I can't do that." It was a painting of a sunset with no real solid lines. "I need a drawing or something that at least has lines to draw," I told him.

"I have an idea. How about you take the snack sacks I brought home and color them over the summer."

"No, I don't like that idea," I said firmly.

"Why not?"

"Because I want to keep them just as they are...as a memory of exactly what we did."

He didn't press further. "Well I don't see any drawings." One of the first options was a drawing with a sun and palm trees. I pointed it out. "Oh okay. That looks pretty good."

I made quick work of this one. After all the searching I didn't have much time.

"It's a good idea doing snack sacks right?"

"Yeah, it's fun!" I said. Most of the time, I thought.

"Well it's been fun for me too," he acknowledged.

"It has?"

"Yeah!" He sat pensively. "Well it's kind of sad that you have to do all this work in the morning."

"What do you mean by work?"

"Well you have to wash the dishes, make my lunch, make my breakfast, and do my snack sack."

I gave him a big hug. At least he notices. :)

A Gray Whale

A Gray Whale

"A humpback whale."

As he said this, I noticed a stuffed humpback whale on a little table in our kitchen. "We've already done a humpback whale," I reminded him.

"Okay then, a gray whale," he responded without any hesitation.

"A gray whale?" I asked, impressed with how quickly he had changed whale types, "I don't even know what a gray whale looks like."

"I don't either," he admitted. I looked it up and handed him my iPhone. "Oh, it's the one with bumps and spots," he said as if he knew it all along. He handed my phone back right away. "Oh how cute. This is so cute!" he exclaimed. He definitely has a soft spot for cute stuff and presumably was keyed by the sea lions gathering around the gray whale.

I was going to protest since it had several things going on, since it was a picture and not a drawing, since it was underwater and I had no idea how I might represent that, and since I didn't have a lot of extra time. But instead, I just sat down, pulled out my double-tipped Sharpie and got to work. I wasn't very into the process, but do like how it came out.

"I like it," he said when he saw the finished product and added one more time, "Aw, that is so cute!"

Maybe rocks with penguins on it and water...

Maybe rocks with penguins on it and water...

That's the kind of guidance I get sometimes. I can't say that I'm nervous anymore hearing these general requests. But it's still quite a challenge to find something I think I can draw and then do a decent job of drawing it. As I've mentioned before, I don't really consider myself an artist. I'm simply copying a reference drawing or photo. It may sound cheesy, but I truly do believe that I can do anything well if I believe in myself. Practice helps too.

I wasn't sure this one was going to turn out well. Sometimes when I get started, its not clear how it's going to take shape or if it will ultimately look like what I set out to draw. The reference drawing was a good one so that helped me today.

"You're the best drawer in the whole world," he declared. "You know why you're the best drawer in the world? Because you tell yourself, 'Alan you can do it.'"

I can only hope that he learns to do the same for himself each and every day.