This thread has caused me to think. My parents, particularly my mother, thought they saw a spark of talent in my earliest drawings as a child. Now, every child has a knack for doodling, and whether I was truly gifted, no evidence survives. It is safe to say I was no prodigy, but my mother thought I was. Good ol’ Mama.

In fact, when I was very young she broached the idea that I might become a “commercial artist.” I’m pretty sure she had no precise concept of what a commercial artist might be, but it meant her baby would eat. In fact, the line between commercial artist and fine artist can be rather artificial and frankly boils down to about that.  

The point is, my mother encouraged me from a young age to become something, and, in a way, that’s what I am today.