A Skeleton Popping Out of a Graveyard

Last night he asked me, "Dad, tomorrow can you do a skeleton popping out of a graveyard?"

"Yeah, sure! Why do you want that?"

"Because I'm making one for a friend."

"You mean you're going to draw that for somebody."

"No, you are."

"Oh, someone asked for it?"

"Yeah."

"Someone in your class?"

"No."

"Someone from your after school program?"

"Yeah."

This morning I ran a search for a skeleton popping out of a graveyard just like he asked. I knew which one I wanted to do and I knew which one he would pick. I don't usually tell him which one to pick, but I did today. He liked it but, of course, he scrolled and picked the other one.

"This one looks easy. It's just the skeleton head and a hand reaching out."

It was, in fact, very complex. It was mostly black and looked like a charcoal drawing. "That doesn't look easy at all."

"Okay," he said. Fortunately, he let me draw the one I picked.

We were up early and I didn't have to make lunch today. I had plenty of time and finished relatively quickly. I was amazingly done early, something that rarely happens. It was a nice feeling not to have to rush for a change.

After having shown off the Bugs Bunny at Pismo Beach snack sack from yesterday, he was excited to bring in old snack sacks to school today. When he woke up he told me he had taken out the ones he wanted to take. He had a mess of sacks on the floor. He grabbed a random armful of snack sacks and started to head out of his room.

"That's too many," I told him. "I thought you were picking out your favorites."

The next thing I knew he had put them all away. "I decided not to take any today."

"Why?"

"Because I have to go over 300 snack sacks to pick my favorites again."

I wanted to press him to pick a few but decided to just let him go play. We're rarely done with breakfast early, so I knew he'd relish the opportunity to just mess around at home before school. I did feel a bit sad and responsible for bursting his bubble, though. I sighed as he ran to his play room. I'm sure he'll bring a stash of snack sacks in soon, especially as the artwork draws more attention.

When I picked him up after school, I asked, "Did you give the snack sack to your friend?"

"Yup."

"What did he say?"

"He said, 'Oh my god! That is sick! Oh my god! Your dad is the best drawer ever!'"

Jack Skellington

"What's for the snack sack today?" I asked for the first time in 10 days. He was off for winter break all last week.

"Jack Skellington?" he said curiously.

"Makes sense," I told him. He had asked for Jack Skellington on the last day before the break but then changed his mind to Oogie Boogie.

"Why do all of these look scary?" he asked browsing through the options. After careful consideration he said, "This one."

"I thought you'd pick one of him looking happy," I said, clearly misinterpreting his question.

"I like him looking scary," he confirmed.

I wasn't thrilled with the choice. "It doesn't look exactly like Jack Skellington, don't you think?"

"It looks like him to me."

"Well, let me give it a shot."

This was a hard one. It has an ominous front facing perspective, black-out parts that always take a ton of time, all those slender finger segments, and that creepy smile. As I drew, it didn't look like much of anything until it all came together toward the very end.

"Oh good!" he said nodding with a big smile as soon as he saw it finished.

When I picked him up in the afternoon, one of his friends came up to me and said with a big smile herself, "You are such a good artist."

"What'd you say?" her mom asked curiously. 

"He's such a good artist!"

"How do you know that?"

"Because he draws on Victor's snack sack everyday. It's so awesome!"

Victor pulled out two snack sacks from his backpack, today's Jack Skellington and the SpongeBob and Patrick one from before the break. He waved them around and showed them off. The mom looked at them amidst the kids squealing and pushing each other to get a better view. 

"Wow, you really are a good artist. Those are amazing!"

"Yeah," her daughter confirmed. "They are so cool!"

I have fans! Hearing the compliments really made my day.