Ray, I love the comment from the author:
"If you're lucky these white marks eventually end up creating a picture." Russ McMullin, Scartchboard Tutorial 2011
I could extrapolate this to every think I try to do with a pen or a brush

Surely, Nolan will disagree and say
"You are as good an artist as you want to be. All it takes is perseverance.".... but he also said
"Realise that not every artwork you do will be a masterpiece. Each artwork will however be an opportunity to learn from your mistakes". (ref: Top 25 artist mistakes, Nolan 2014)
Very well said, positive and encouraging

... I should post Nolan's quote above my easel
