Smitten

This is my picture for Illustration Friday the theme is smitten. I drew this picture 11 months ago on a piece of multi-purpose copy paper using a number two pencil, then inking over it with my Gel-roller. The illustration is really titled "Broke Bush Mountain", but it fit the smitten theme so well I decided to use it.

This drawing was the first time I used a pencil, then ink. The pictures on the blog before this had all been quick sketches. I was just doing it for a laugh, not because I wanted to make art.

Then one morning I woke up with the idea for this picture in my head. The image in my mind was strong and I wanted to make sure I got it from my brain to the page in one piece, so I used a pencil. I was thrilled with the way the picture turned out and it gave me the sudden desire to create a decent illustration.

I'm not sure what happened next, I started doing a little art research and soon realized you don't need any skills to be an artist! If you're a charlatan you can get away with anything! I felt I had finally found my calling!

It all became clear after that. I was smitten with the evil plan that had hatched in my brain. There's a sucker born every minute. I could parlay my bad art into millions.
Bwhahahahahahahahahahaha!

I went on my merry way making ridiculous pictures not caring about their quality at all, but every once and a while, by mere chance, a decent picture would slip out. Every decent picture gave me a little rush. I liked the rush. I started to care about the quality of the pictures.

Then something else happened. I became smitten with the whole process of making a picture. I found myself falling in love with the craft. I suddenly started to care about the art.

*SIGH*

So much for my evil plans, the millions will have to wait. This damn picture changed everything for me.

Are you a big charlatan? Are you going to leave me some love?