Brave

I received a fantastic gift in the mail the other day. It was a portrait of myself done by an artist I've never met before. He says he is not an artist but I beg to differ. To me John has earned the right to call himself an artist. Too often people compare themselves to some great artists whose work they could never achieve and therefore say that they are not an artist. Well there are a lot of artists that are way better than me. So should I not have the right to call myself an artist. I don't think so. I say if you have the courage to draw or paint or make little collages or whatever, then you can and SHOULD call yourself an artist. I feel this is one of the hurdles people must overcome in beginning to start drawing or painting again after many years of procrastination. We think that maybe someone will laugh at us or say their art stinks. I can tell you all honestly that I LOVE John's portrait of me. I am going to take it to the frame store and have it framed with a beautiful thick 8 ply matte and it will hang with honor in my apartment alongside artwork by some of the most famous artists in the world. I'm a collector as you all know (bragger). So you tell me should John call himself an artist. Now if only he will say it to himself, he just may do more lovely paintings just like this one.