My mom always loved contests. For her, getting one’s artwork or photography in the newspaper was a huge deal. Even after I made a feature film that was in some major film festivals, my mom continued to tell me about these contests. I’d show her a photo I had taken and her first response was, “You should send that to the paper, maybe they'll want to use it.” For her, if you got something into the paper, that was “making it.”
This is a story about the time I did make it into the paper, but today - after three decades - you’ll read the real story behind it: When I was about 8 years old, a local TV station was having their annual student art contest and the participants had to paint an image inspired from a book of their choice. At that time, I was crazy about “There’s No Such Thing As A Dragon” by Jack Kent, so my mom encouraged me to participate in the contest. However, there was one catch. I couldn’t paint. I had absolutely no skill.
My mom bought a big piece of posterboard and I remember that I just started doodling on it when she was in the other room. When she came back she saw just a couple of crooked lines with a pencil Of course my mom wouldn’t say anything bad about my artistic talent, but she was quick to say something like, “You know, I think that what we should do is create a unique background.” She had all this colored tissue paper and we cut it into squares and created a colorful background that conveniently covered up what I had started. Over this new background, my mom painted and painted for at least a few hours.I helped out a little bit and filled in a few shapes here and there, but it was really my mom who did most of the work.
This is a story about the time I did make it into the paper, but today - after three decades - you’ll read the real story behind it: When I was about 8 years old, a local TV station was having their annual student art contest and the participants had to paint an image inspired from a book of their choice. At that time, I was crazy about “There’s No Such Thing As A Dragon” by Jack Kent, so my mom encouraged me to participate in the contest. However, there was one catch. I couldn’t paint. I had absolutely no skill.
My mom bought a big piece of posterboard and I remember that I just started doodling on it when she was in the other room. When she came back she saw just a couple of crooked lines with a pencil Of course my mom wouldn’t say anything bad about my artistic talent, but she was quick to say something like, “You know, I think that what we should do is create a unique background.” She had all this colored tissue paper and we cut it into squares and created a colorful background that conveniently covered up what I had started. Over this new background, my mom painted and painted for at least a few hours.I helped out a little bit and filled in a few shapes here and there, but it was really my mom who did most of the work.
After we submitted the painting, we heard nothing for weeks. So my mom, being my mom, ended up calling the TV station and somehow she got through to one of the judges. When she asked who the winner was for my age division, he didn’t say my name but described “my” painting and I remember how excited my mom was. “First place!!” she yelled from the kitchen right after she got off the phone.
All the winners were invited to a sort of gallery exhibit showcasing everyone’s work at the TV studio. I even got my picture taken by a professional photographer and the picture was printed in the paper. My mom was thrilled for me because I think that she really thought I was the one who did most of the work. If you had asked her if she was the one who painted it, she would have said, “Absolutely not, it was all Matt!” In her mind, she was just there to help out, when in reality she was the one who was behind it.
In literature, there is the term ghost-writer, describing the person who’s really responsible for having written a book, even though their name isn’t on the cover. Over 30 years ago, my mom was my “ghost-painter”, although I got all the local fame for it. Ruby Adams should have won the 14th Annual Student Art Award. Of course she was in her late forties, but coming in at 4’10 she would have fit right in.
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