Drawing, Self-Esteem, and Toracon

I've bitched about my atrophied art skills for years, now. I've attempted numerous plans and schedules for rebuilding my lost habits and talents. I've never really done anything about it. Yesterday was Toracon, this little middle school anime convention a friend and her students put on. I always try to have an Artist's Alley table there, to help support them. I don't exactly make my money back, but it's worth it anyway. I'll make a couple of bucks through prints or little sketch commissions, but mostly I'm just there, talking and hanging out for around six hours. 

Yesterday, more than any previous con, I spent the day drawing and talking about drawing. I made over half a dozen little sketches (commissioned and otherwise) of various geek characters in the bubble people style. I spent way too much time on each of them 'cause I was having fun with colored pencils. I looked through a kid's sketchbook and remembered the days when I used to actually fill those books. I had two or three kids come by, take one look at my stuff, and tell me how gorgeous my art was. I had one kid come by and say he wanted to learn how to be good like me. I said to one kid, once, that my neighbor's art was way better than mine, and that neighbor told me flat to stop it. I recognized, throughout the day, how frequently I was talking about the skill I USED to have and how disparaging I was about the bubble people I do now. 

I'm good at these little guys. Paul got me started on them in college, and I do them all the time, now. They're an incredibly fun, subtly versatile style of drawing. I went to my friend's house, last evening, and as soon as I sat down, my first impulse was to start drawing again. I think this is a sign, yes? Stop talking about it and just start bringing my sketchbook places again.