I discovered Roger Ebert’s drawings through a typical Internet rabbit hole.
Jason Chatfield’s (excellent) newsletter led me to Nishant Jain (his book Make (Sneaky) Art looks wonderful). I immediately started listening to his recent podcast episode featuring travel artist James Richards.
In that interview, Richards talks about Roger Ebert (yes, that Roger Ebert, world-famous film critic). He discusses Ebert’s lesser-known talent — drawing.
“What you draw is an invaluable and unique representation of how you saw at that moment in that place according to your abilities. That’s all we want. We already know what a dog really looks like.”
This article got me thinking about impostor syndrome. Ebert has been drawing for a really long time, but his goal is not to be an amazing artist. Rather, he draws because it forces him to really observe a place, and to remember it. His drawings are how he experiences a moment more deeply.
“By abandoning perfectionism you liberate yourself to draw your way. And nobody else can draw the way you do.”
Roger Ebert
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