I recently had the pleasure of meeting the man one Sunday. I sat down and we started talking about his artwork. I asked him how he became interested in art... he told me he grew up with a bunch of older brothers, here in Chattanooga and that he had no formal trainig growing up- he had just always had the knack.
I promised the man that the next week I'd have him sketch my 2 young sons, and he showed me how he could capture their attentions so they wouldn't keep looking away.
The lesson ("trick")I learned in elementary school was, "there's no better time than the present". I failed to do so.
And for the rude comment, just some piss-ant kid who hasn't found any talent.