Return of the Seafarer
82. RETURN OF THE SEAFARER - A black ink and black color pencil drawing on an 11 x 14 size coquille board. Fanzine illustration, publication unknown.
From the very beginning the effort I made in drawing a picture for a fanzine was no less than it was for a professional publisher. I don't ever remember working on a drawing quickly and saying to myself, "good enough" and mailing it off to a publisher. A very long time ago I learned that when you finish a job and say "good enough," it probably means you did something less than you are capable of doing.
I had a phone conversation with writer Jack Vance, once, and asked him if he ever looked back at a published story of his and regretted not having done a better job of it, and he answered, "of course! But, though we always strive for perfection it is just not attainable. So sorry, Steve, but you do actually reach a point when you just have to stop and tell yourself, "good enough," because you can go on forever trying to make it better".
So, I had to learn when to stop, when to decide that the artwork is finished. And now, since I had that phone conversation with Jack Vance, I sit back after I'm done with a drawing, or painting, look at it and say, "Good enough, Jack!"
From the very beginning the effort I made in drawing a picture for a fanzine was no less than it was for a professional publisher. I don't ever remember working on a drawing quickly and saying to myself, "good enough" and mailing it off to a publisher. A very long time ago I learned that when you finish a job and say "good enough," it probably means you did something less than you are capable of doing.
I had a phone conversation with writer Jack Vance, once, and asked him if he ever looked back at a published story of his and regretted not having done a better job of it, and he answered, "of course! But, though we always strive for perfection it is just not attainable. So sorry, Steve, but you do actually reach a point when you just have to stop and tell yourself, "good enough," because you can go on forever trying to make it better".
So, I had to learn when to stop, when to decide that the artwork is finished. And now, since I had that phone conversation with Jack Vance, I sit back after I'm done with a drawing, or painting, look at it and say, "Good enough, Jack!"
