I share this little trivia about my early beginnings in art as a giggle. It seems that people are always curious about how artists start. I was a heavy-duty Crayon user. I had a good eye for color but was not very good at staying in the lines, or so I am told.

My mother was a talented artist and writer; she blessed me with this gift. When I was in the third grade, she drew a remarkable picture of Santa Claus. I found the picture at home and, against better judgment, took it to school. My classmates were so impressed that they asked me if I had done it. I wanted to be the center of interest, so I said, “Yes.”

I was confident it would go no further. That very day, our teacher announced that our class was going to compete in a school project and that we were going to do a massive Christmas scene mural in the back of our classroom. My Classmates started yelling at the teacher, “Let Andy do the Santa!” I sunk back into my seat. My mother always told us, “If you lie, you will get caught.” I was trapped in my deception. I studied my mother's picture, and I was given the day off of school work to draw Santa on the mural.

That day, I learned two important lessons.

If you lie, you will get caught. And how to look at a subject and redraw it perfectly!