Barbel and Beverly

My birthday began on the fifth floor of the Best Western in Shreveport with a phone call from Beverly and an email from Barbel--two "B" birthday conversations that lingered throughout the day.  As I wrote this line, I knew it sounded familiar, and finally recalled where I'd heard it over and over:

"A dark night in a city that knows how to keep its secrets. But on the 12th floor of the Acme building, one man is still trying to find the answers to life's persistent questions: Guy Noir, Private Eye."

Beverly and I have been friends for over 40 years, and it was fun to talk about music and books and travel. Retreats have been part of the fabric of our foursome group friendship (Beverly, Mary Locke, Sylvia and I)  for decades--and we're planning a 70th birthday retreat for Beverly this November.   At sixty-six, I'm the youngest of the group--but not by far.

Then I got an email from Barbel--who's visiting her mother in Germany--with some art-making advice I love:

DRAWING: I am so glad you are OPEN to learn a NEW and unfamiliar skill. Try to stick with it, its a most HELPFUL  T O O L  to learn to LATER ON  express yourself creatively. It will take lots and lots of practice and various techniques. It's worth it, even though at times you may feel 'it's a pain in the ass'.

If I may say so - my advice to my friend:

go with YOUR flow
dont compare yourself with others who are more skilled already
dont look for results too soon

In Artschool I HATED drawing and ended up finally loving it.
What you are doing right now is EXPLORING - learning something which gives you a chance to take it further where you want to be.
It is NOT fast path.