Saved from an early grave

In the rare moments I think back to my high school days, those days are not remembered fondly.

It was a time when I was your consummate introvert.

Full of raging hormones concerning girls but too consumed with self-doubt to do much about them. So, I had to convert my flood of hormonal energy...

...and channel it into doing well academically.

Except that so much of what I was taught only seemed relevant for the quiz on Friday or the year-end final.

Except for one notable class and its instructor...

Who I believe saved my life.

In the small town high school I attended, one of the compulsory classes we had to take was Drivers Education.

Slide show instruction in the classroom. Then practice what you learned behind the wheel of the Drivers Ed car.

This class saved me from being the dangerously unskilled (and possibly dead) driver I could have become.

I particularly remember the day I was nervously driving on one of the back roads near town with the Drivers Ed instructor.

As I came to a stop at an intersection and prepared to turn left, I had a "brilliant" idea. I just knew it would solve the burning question that had me stumped.

My overthink-the-problem teenage mind couldn’t figure out...

When making a turn, how do you know when the front tires are again pointed straight ahead and the turn is complete?

Here I was worrying about things I couldn’t see (the front tires) instead of focusing on the obvious—the nose of the car (which I could see).

So, the “brilliant” idea that flashed into mind at that intersection was...

Eureka! All I needed to do was watch the Chevrolet logo in the middle of the steering wheel as I made my turn. When the logo was horizontal again, I'd know the front tires were pointed straight and my turn was complete.

Thank God the instructor saw me staring at the steering wheel and quickly got my eyes back on the road where they belonged.

Thus saving the life of Mrs. Gumble’s oldest son and probably the lives of other innocents on the road.

The memory of that experience often reminds me how easy it is to mistakenly adopt harmful habits because of inexperience.

It’s just as true for beginning artists as it is for beginning drivers.

And how important it is in your journey into art to learn the best, most productive ways to create art.

That build both your art skills and your self-confidence.

As I found in my driving class, to build skills and self-confidence it’s especially important to have an experienced instructor beside you, guiding you on your best path forward...

...so you avoid the mistakes every beginner is prey to.

In order to help you do that I am working on a program I’m really excited about.

It will combine my 40+ years of art experience with my conviction that creating good art is less about talent and more about making the right decisions as you create art.

I’ll be giving you sneak peeks into my program over the next month.

Best Wishes,
Gary Gumble
Founder of BeginningArtist.com
Without art the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable. (George Bernard Shaw)

P.S. As I continue to work on my program, I would love to include your input.

What is the biggest thing that you’re struggling with right now?

The one thing that you would love to have help improving?

Just hit reply and let me know!

Thanks a bunch.