The talent myth

It's nice in a way when people say you are talented, or they wish they could do this. My feelings are shared with many artists in that I believe anyone can paint well if they have the desire and interest and can put in hours of practise.

OK, there are some who have a natural aptitude to record what they see and can draw with extraordinary accuracy. Whether that ability develops and transforms what they see into an "artistic vision" is another matter. I've known and witnessed this ability with students on the autistic spectrum; many - but not all - can reproduce extraordinarily accurate images. I wish I could do this in a way that looks so easy, but I have to work harder than that!

Someone said that anybody can paint anything, if they spend enough time on it. I think that's largely true, but the reality is that most of us have neither the time nor the patience. If I come to a painting, there is a long development that gets me there. Years of looking and practise comes first and then drafting and planning for this new one. Even then there is no guarantee that the painting will work. Once started, I take my time over most elements and work in a concentrated, distraction free environment. If it looks like it is easy, then great, and people may be surprised how quickly it comes together once started, but the skill is - I suppose - in making it look easy.

Ellen Langer, a psychologist and artist has this to say:

"Langer makes the bold declaration that: “Everybody has an equal talent for everything”. Drawing upon the biographies of successful artists, and studies of artists, she concludes that creations by people generally seen as creative artists are more a product of learned skills rather the result of some inherited quality.  In other words, what we usually consider to be some innate or inner quality, is largely a matter of learned skills.  According to Langer:

“we usually impute to people who are very talented, like Picasso, a knowingness that he wouldn’t recognize as he embarked on a new work.  It isn’t that the talented “know” what they are about to do as much that they are willing to start something and see where it leads them.  We, however, tend to focus on their results and ignore the struggles, uncertainties and false starts.”

The mind set discussed below probably helps in that I want to achieve and I know I will be very critical, because I want to please myself and improve from each exercise and painting.

What I'm basically saying is that rather than it coming easily to me, it's actually just hard work and it isn't easy. Added to the self criticism there is the worry that other people will be just as critical.

Another interesting post from Will Kemp that describes how many of us feel.

The Talent Myth

"Sometimes it can feel like every one else is a naturally gifted painter.

You can go to a ‘beginners art class’ and everyone seems to know so much already.

You’d love to emulate other students confidence and success but you don’t know how.

Every time you give it a go, there’s a little something holding you back.

It could be the fear of the unknown, a lack of time or a inner feeling that ‘I’m not talented enough’

Maybe you’ve followed some tutorials, read some books but still have some loose ends in your full understanding of how painting works.

Your first attempts?…not so amazing.

But I know that taking a simple approach can give you repeated consistent results, even if you’re an utter beginner.

Painting should be a simple process that gives you a great sense of calm, achievement and pleasure.

Without a basic understanding of the fundamentals, you can waste hours at your easel, get disheartened and amass a healthy collection of brand new paint tubes…with no brand new paintings.

The ‘I’m not talented’ conditioning can hold many people back for years before taking that first jump into painting, but artistic talent is a myth.

Painting is a skill that can be learnt, just like riding a bike.

The first stage in your transformation is to have a look at your mindset."

Will Kemp