There is a popular notion that artists are born with an ability to draw, but that is not true. The impulse to draw is there, but no one arrives in this world endowed with the capacity to graphically depict visual reality. I have never known of a painter who was just "naturally" good at it and could do it without serious training. Drawing is a skill that must be learned, but it isn't like swimming or riding a bike. Once you get the knack of it, you can't relax and just let it happen by itself. It takes constant practice and presence of mind. Why? Because it is not a physical skill, it is a mental discipline. It deals with continual variables rather than the repetition of memorized shapes. I always have the fond hope that someday it will get easier, but it never does. Sound drawing always demands great care right down to the last dab in a painting.

                                                                                            --Richard Schmid