[Ross Paul Rubens]

I am sorry if there is already a thread on this topic.

I have tried drawing and using watercolor, and i just can't seem to get it remotely close to right. In my head i see amazing works of art but i just cannot put them to paper.

I was not born with artistic talent, do you think if i took classes and worked at it, i could some day create beautiful works of art?

My main question is, are artists born or made?

 

[DLeeG]

There is definitely a natural talent needed.

 

[Ross Paul Rubens]

Can someone who doesn't have the natural talent become a great artist through learning?

 

[DLeeG]

No. Can someone who is tone deaf become a great opera singer . Natural ability is a must.

 

[Ross Paul Rubens]

I think that is false. They are two completely different things. Not having natural artistic talent isn't. Disability.

 

[pencils]

A question that has been asked for eons but difficult to answer....first of all, whats beautiful art? Doesn`t it depend on the viewer? I have always believed there is no wrong way to draw, it comes down to satisfying yourself, I mean...people laughed at ban Gogh and the French Impressionists but have you priced any of their work recently? Four letter word art experts, the vast majority don`t know what they`re talking about. If you pursue this to please other people, you`ll never be satisfied, do what you do and work at it. People can learn techniques but I personally do not believe imagination can be taught, if you work at it long enough you will hopefully develops a style and a palette but sorry to say, there are no shortcuts...it takes years of hard work. Take classes and more importantly learn to take constructive criticism. Sometimes we`re so close to a piece that we miss things and thats when input from like minded people can really help. As for natural ability...can anyone define that for me?

 

[Ross Paul Rubens]

Natural ability like, being born with talent in a specific area.

I have the imagination, it's just hard getting the images from my brain onto paper.

 

[DLeeG]

I think that is false. They are two completely different things. Not having natural artistic talent isn't. Disability.

Tone deaf is not a disability. I am thinking that you aren't serious about this thread. How is anyone going to get to the level that you are describing if they can't get the images from their heads to the paper.

 

[Ross Paul Rubens]

I don't know what else to say,

The title is extremely self explanatory.

 

[Ross Paul Rubens]

People can learn to do great things,
Some don't have to learn they are just born with the talent.

Can someone who learned ever be as good as the one with the natural ability?

 

[DLeeG]

Why did you ask a question that you know the answer to?

 

[Ross Paul Rubens]

Since it's obvious not a fact, therefor it must be my personal opinion. My question was for your opinion.

 

[pencils]

to get to where you want to be you shouldn`t have time to post on the internet. like the Average White Band used to say....you got work to do.

 

[Peter Hausamann]

I say both. I have family who show artistic ability, and so it is with me. However, me ability started at a primitive stage, but what improved it was my love for creating art. It was that love that forged the endless hours of practice required to learn how to do art. Without that practice, I would still be at the primitive stage. I think the key 'ability' is the love of creating that makes an artist. Marc Chagall was once told he had no ability, but he didn't care, because he loved it, and forged himself into a great artist.

 

[AZACRYLIC]

Look, learning can be a struggle for some people, we don't all see the same, and the medium can also be a problem. So draw it or paint it , save it for later or throw it away - its art not brain surgery, and we are all just learning and, if one has all the answers then write a book on it!

 

[Peter Hausamann]

Just as an adjunct.
I just read this from a book called Painters on Painting by Eric Potter:
'The main source of interest comes from the soul of the artist, and flows into the soul of the beholder in an irresistible way. Not that every interesting work strikes all its beholders with equal force merely because each of them is supposed to possess a soul; only people gifted with feeling and imagination are capable of being moved. These two faculties are equally indispensable to the beholder and the artist, although in different proportions.' - Eugene Delacroix, 1857.
Also, some say that the soul rules over the mind, and our thoughts and actions are ruled by the actual condition of the soul. I wonder.

 

[pencils]

So us folks who don`t really believe in any invisible, manmade supreme being don`t have souls yeah? Then, that explanation can`t apply to us.

 

[Peter Hausamann]

Hi Pencil.
I must have hit a nerve or something . I can't see where my previous post implies that some people do not have a soul, regardless if they believe it or not. However, it does mention that some people are gifted (have more) feeling and imagination than others. Believe my, I have come across many art critics that show little feeling and no imagination.
In any case, the above post is just an added thought to the original thread - 'Are artists born or made', and it opens up many other questions. The soul aspect is just one of those questions. Here are a few more: besides genetics, there is environment, re-incarnation, culture, access to resources, support, psychological well-being, economics, etc.
I had no intention of implying that artists and their patrons must believe in a soul to appreciate art, or anything like that. I was just being open-minded (without bias) about the subject, and passing on something I just read about from the book 'Painters on Painting'.
I am sorry if I have offended anybody.

 

[pencils]

don`t worry.....it`s just the internet...my nerves don`t get touched, frayed or hit...it`s all just junk on the web. so, no...i was not offended, that sometimes happens when people knock on my door and disturb me when I`m painting to try to get me to join one of the religious clans or one of the numerous cults in Japan. but I stopped taking the web seriously a long time ago. and I`m not one who thinks the people on web sites are friends....friends in my life are people I actually know, odd I`m sure to some folks but thats fine, so I have never accepted friendship requests on line, makes no sense to me, kinda like trying to define art or these days artists, I mean who doesn`t call them self an artist nowadays?

 

[LINDAKEATHLEY 2012]

being a new painter, i have to say you must start with talent. yes, you can learn to paint; priming the canvas, painting your subject and sealing the canvas. but something vital will not be there. you have to put some of your own self into a painting to make come alive. i think strictly learning the rules will give an artistly sound painting, but there will be none of your soul in it. it's the same with music, poetry, other form of art. your emotional input must be there.