How we cite our quotes: (Page.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I went to my room, sat at my desk, and drew pictures of my uncle. I made him very round and dark-bearded, and I gave him a kind smile and dark eyes. He always wore dark-blue suits, but I made his suit light blue because he did not feel dark blue to me. (30.19)
This quote refers to Asher's early childhood habit of drawing pretty much everyone he came into contact with on a regular basis. Asher's creativity is obvious here: he draws in order to make sense of his world, and he draws people as he sees them, not necessarily as they are.
Quote #2
Then, holding the pad with the drawing on my lap, I carefully brushed the burnt end of the cigarette onto my mother's face. The ash left an ugly smudge. I rubbed the smudge with my pinkie. It spread smoothly, leaving a gray film. I used the ash from another cigarette. The gray film deepened. I worked a long time. I used cigarette ash on the part of her shoulder not in the sunlight and the folds of her housecoat. The contours of her body began to come alive. (34.1)
Here Asher uses his creative skill to bring a drawing of his mother to life with the help of the cigarettes she's been chainsmoking in the wake of her brother's death. Pretty impressive stuff, especially considering that he's still in elementary school.
Quote #3
I would learn to draw my feelings of ice and darkness and a street crying. There was nothing I could not do. (49.3)
As a young child, Asher is very confident in his creative abilities. He knows that he can do pretty much anything—like draw a picture of a street crying—if he puts his mind to it. The funny thing is he's probably right: he's got an impressive artistic gift, and his creativity is basically boundless.