A Chance Encounter

I’ve been a nervous wreck for the last week and a half. A little over ten days ago it hit me that animation school was starting really soon – too soon, in fact. I’m not ready. Well, I don’t feel ready, anyway.

You see, despite my getting into the program on what was apparently a worthy portfolio, I’m still not confident in my abilities. I’ve never been an art student. I’ve always passionately considered it, but I never enrolled. And I’ve always been self-conscious about my drawing.

The anxiety reached its peak over the weekend. I was madly going to every life drawing session I could find in an attempt to improve. However, well on my way to burnout even before the semester began, I wasn’t so much learning anything as I was going through the motions, frantically, and becoming less and less confident with each session.

But a funny thing happened yesterday. I found myself in Staples attempting to get a copy of my application portfolio printed out. They were particularly busy for early on a Tuesday afternoon. The clerk had handed me the first set of prints and had gone to queue up the second when a rather bold, bald Englishman accosted me. He had been shoulder-surfing glimpses of my portfolio as I leafed through the proofs. I let him page through the stack of 11″ x 17″ sheets, somewhat wary of his intentions.

“These are good,” he said, nodding his head and handing back the sheaf, “you’ve obviously got some natural ability.” To my surprise, he seemed genuinely impressed.

The ensuing conversation took up the better part of the next half-hour. I found out he was a drawing teacher at Capilano University. He found out I was about to become a drawing student at Capilano University. We exchanged contact info and after another unwarranted battery of praise for my work, we parted.

Since then I’ve been feeling better. I went to a life drawing session later that day and came away with mediocre drawings, but a new perspective. School is just five days away now, and, while I’m still nervous, I’m feeling more confident about it than I have before.

And it’s all because of one perfectly timed chance encounter.
[tags]confidence, portfolio, drawing teacher, capilano university, artist[/tags]