Raheem Sterling joked he "couldn't even colour between the lines" at the London Portrait Gallery for his foundation.
He was away from his usual canvas, the pitch and without his usual brush his football, but accompanied a group of kids from his home borough of Brent in North London.
The 28-year-old winger was keen to use his time productively having not been picked by England for the October internationals against Australia and Italy.
Speaking about how his non-selection has affected him ahead of of Arsenal's visit to Stamford Bridge, he said: "Mentally, it is all good. Life is great, I have a beautiful family so what more can I ask for?"
The 82-cap England international can only play well for Chelsea to be recalled into Gareth Southgate's squad.
He won a penalty, scored a goal and got an assist in Chelsea's 4-1 win away at Burnley before the October break.
Sterling was then asked if he is thinking about making the England squad in November ahead of Euro 2024, he added: "Of course, of course England is still very important for me.
"It is a massive year for England with the players we’ve got but, like every other day, you just keep working, keep striving and what will be will be."
Sterling had arrived fresh from a gruelling week training under Mauricio Pochettino, who continues to drill his team with double training sessions.
He has managed to balance his work with the foundation, which saw a group of kids from Brent present a photography exhibition on Wednesday evening.
Sterling had met his foundation's board, gave a speech to the kids and explored the gallery.
He explained that having been inspired living a stone's throw from the Wembley arch, he wanted to encourage kids from a similar background to dream to become whatever they wanted to be.
"That’s the whole reason I created this foundation for that very small reason. It's related to the small inspiration I got from an [Wembley] arch behind my house and move that to different neighbourhoods in North West London.
"It kind of makes me feel close to that time. I have always maintained it is just about creating different opportunities, you know, it might not help anyone but if you can at least try to guide people ahead of their adult years, I think that’s the focus.
"The whole idea for me is that connection with my young self, looking back at that young version of myself and giving opportunities like this in environments like this.
"As long as that can keep going on then I think it can be beneficial and that’s the most important thing."
