Inspiration for Artists > If you’ve ever thought that you don’t have enough talent to be a great artist, read this advice – and then pick up your brush.
by William Schneider
schneiderart.com
Every artist you admire started out as an amateur. All of these skills are “teachable!”
You might not have enough interest or desire to put in the time necessary, but that’s different than this mystical thing that’s labeled as “talent.”
Humans are the “rehearsing animal.” We can practice something over and over and over until we get it right. Michael Jordan worked on his jump shot and cross-over dribble tens of thousands of times. Tiger Woods was so driven that he would play 18 holes and then go straight to the driving range to refine and tweak his swing.
Artists have it easy. Unlike sports or even music, which require muscles and nerves operating at peak efficiency, painting is mostly mental.
It doesn’t require strength or dexterity to wield a paintbrush. You just have to observe accurately and learn how to mix the colors. Artists can produce masterworks right up until the day they die … you won’t find 70-year-old quarterbacks playing in the NFL!
I went back to art school at the age of 45. (And after I put in the requisite 10,000 hours, I suddenly became much more “talented”!)
Learn more from William Schneider with his PaintTube.TV art workshops, available here.
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Virtually I accept the idea that everyone can learn to paint. But I don’t agree that the development of an artist is the described process. The main issue in painting is painting. That is the process itself. I enjoy it so much, that last year I painted a large picture of 200×160 cm and used paintbrushes between 0 -1 (size). It took me about 8 months, and I enjoyed every minute. Of course, it’s important to get the desired work of art (at the end of the process), and the picture took part in an exhibition in the artist’s home in Haifa, Israel. But the most important phase was the painting itself. I always have the feeling of losing a good friend when I finish a painting, I think I could not reach these feelings by learning. Either you have it or not. If you try to live an artist’s life you need to be an artist. It’s not something you could gain by learning.