Pinocchio’s pear
A NEW Draw is Life column on wasting opportunity and valuing time as an artist.
What is this column? I’m going to do that classic “answer by saying what it’s not” thing. First, it’s not going to be the definitive answer on anything. It’s not going to be “the way”, I’m not going to preach from on high on how things should be done.
I draw for a living and in an age when folks are trying to crack the code to making art, but I want to share the human experience behind the images you all see. This business is wonderful and treacherous, I’ll share stories here about how I get by.
If that’s instructive, then cool. But none of this is gospel.
My name is Mike Hawthorne, and welcome to Draw is Life
Pinocchio’s pear: Wasting opportunity, and valuing time as an artist.
Everyone knows of Pinocchio, mostly from a little movie some guy made. When my kids were young I read the book to them and there’s a bit in there that always stuck with me. A chapter where he eats a pear.
I grew up very poor. Like, eating-out-of-the-garbage poor. And like Pinocchio, I also had a single parent. So when I read the chapter where Geppetto is feeding Pinocchio some pears while teaching him not to waste anything, well…I connected with it at a gut level.
You see, Pinocchio wants to eat these pears but he’s kind of a typical kid and is all, “Eww, I’m not eating the skins!” So they set them aside first and Pinocchio gorges on the pears. He wants to toss the cores but Gepetto sets them aside, too.
Once Pinocchio finishes the pears he’s complaining about still being hungry, and Gepetto pulls out the pear skins and cores.
The idea is that Gepetto wants to teach this kid that maybe you shouldn’t quickly waste things you’d love to have later.
It’s a solid life lesson, but honestly… It's kinda good medicine for artists too.
I’ve been teaching for about 10 years and the only consistent thing I have heard from all my students is them lamenting their lack of time. They could have made something great, if not for that dreaded clock. If only they had more time.
Even when I started teaching a new class, where I had them plan their own schedules and only turn in 3 pieces in a semester, the work didn’t change in a significant way. A four week project still ends up being a “holy shit this is due tomorrow!” project.
These students are often tossing away their “pear skins” and finding themselves hungry later.
Honestly, most of us are like this. We put things off, waste time, etc. Which is fine, it’s their lives, they can live it how they want.
It’s when later artists hit me with the sturm und drang, the “woe is me, I never have enough time to draw!” that I think of Pinocchio. I want to tell these folks, “you tossed the cores.”
Look, life is tough and busy and no one has enough time. But, if you want to draw, I implore you to draw. Keep a small sketchbook on you and all those moments you find yourself sitting and waiting, break it out instead of your phone and draw. Anything. Nothing. Scribble, doodle, anything.
Just draw.
We all have moments where we break out our phones to mindlessly look at a new TikTok or check our email for the 100th time. I know it, you know it. Make a deal with yourself to use some of that time to sketch. I’m not asking you to switch over to only drawing, Youtube is too addictive for that. I’m saying start small, use a quarter of that time. Then half.
A few weeks later you’ll look up and find you’ve made some progress. Drawing an eye is making more sense. Doodling abstract forms has brought your anxiety levels down. You have an idea more fleshed out. Sister Corita Kent said it best, “The only rule is work.”
You’ll have eaten the entire pear, skins and all (not the seeds though, please. Gross.)
I really want to stress that this is not one of those “grind’ columns. I’m not saying to wake up at 4 a.m. to draw, or give up life’s little joys to draw more. I’m saying to value your time, honor it, use it wisely, and to do what you want, well.
Read the first Draw is Life column -
Draw is Life: NEW monthly column!
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JAN 7
BTW - I practice what I preach. Here’s my custom made wallet, sized so I can fit a small sketchbook in it, just in case of art-emergencies.
Happy drawing.
Best,
Mike