Sunday Mailbag: Other Than Art?

Q: It’s obvious you were “Born To Draw,” but just for slaps and giggles let’s pretend you just made different life choices … what profession/ career/ job do you think you might have settled on? Having attended a workshop and having watched your videos I can’t help but think “Educator” suits you! Just curious.

A: I get this question now and then, but I’ve never really had a good answer for it because all I’ve ever want to be was an artist. However, I was thinking about that subject while walking the dogs the other day (all great thinking is done either in the shower or while walking the dog) and it occurred to me I do have an answer:

I’d want to be a writer.

A novelist, short story or kids book author, TV or film script writer…I wouldn’t be picky. A good part of the reason this blog exists is because it gives me a chance to occasionally paint with words and not ink or pixels. Lord knows I desperately need an editor, and I’d need a lot of further education. My studies of the English language, grammar, and the fundamentals of writing ended with the final bell of my high school days in 1984. Plus I type with two fingers. I might be the fastest two fingered typist you’ll ever seen, but that’s like saying I’ve got the top grade point average in remedial summer school. Also, the “idea” part of writing would be a stickler for me.

Of course, saying I’d be doing that for a living if I wasn’t an artist is taking a lot for granted. Writing for a living is at least as tough as drawing for one, and there is probably an even higher percentage of people who want to be writers and never make it than there are people who want to be artists but never pull it off. But…you asked.

Thanks to Phil “Philbert” Fountain for the question. If you have a question you want answered for the mailbag about cartooning, illustration, MAD Magazine, caricature or similar, e-mail me and I’ll try and answer it here!