Winky

[Martin Hash]

Winky.png

I always wanted to be an artist as a kid; I mean like 3rd Grade when the Weekly Reader had a picture of a tiger a kid my age drew; it was awesome. I didn’t know how that kid did it because even though I was the best artist in my class, it was nothing compared to him. That’s why whenever I saw one of those adds for “Draw Winky and win” I wanted to enter the contest, so in 6th Grade, when I was 11, I did. I spent all afternoon drawing Winky, determined to be the best, and it was perfect, but then my sister, who was 3 at the time, colored on it! Didn’t make any difference though because there was an age requirement for entry and I was too young. I couldn’t understand at the time why it made any difference how old you were to be an artist?

Winky Drawing.jpg

Later that year at my grandma’s house there was a contest they showed during cartoons for drawing a Mayflower moving truck and win $50. I could do that I knew, and spent all afternoon drawing; a practice picture then the real thing. My grandma thought it was good too and she helped me mail it in. I spent weeks in anticipation waiting for them to pick the winner knowing it would be me, but to my great disappointment, I didn’t, even though my drawing was a lot better than the winners.

Mayflower Truck s.jpg

I gave up on drawing contests, aiming instead on being a comic book artist. I thought Art contests must be a scam until later I learned that my hero, Charles Schulz’s, job while he was developing as a cartoonist and creating Peanuts: Snoopy & Charlie Brown; was an art instructor for the Winky people.