I hear it all the time from people who would like to do some form of artwork: “I don’t have the talent. I can’t draw. ” Or one of a myriad of negatives they tell themselves that keeps them from even trying. To you I say “Just do it!”
The most significant difference between an artist and a non-artist is not necessarily any amount of inborn talent; rather, those who are known to be artists try and fail at their attempts repeatedly, if not regularly. The difference, though, is that they get back on that horse and try again. We’re hard-wired to learn from failure and it’s what we learn from a failed piece of art is what we bring to the next piece. It may take any number of attempts and a lot of hard work to get to that place called success.
We have access via the internet to a wealth of excellent art, tutorials, classes and so on to feed our needs for inspiration. Here are a few links sure to help you on your way!
Jane Davies
Kathy Anne White
Textile Artist
Gelli Arts
Zone One Arts
Deb Riley
I stole this quote from a Deb Riley post:
“Art is about problem solving and trying any way you can to get the vision in your head out of it so others can see. Art is also about experience, you can’t learn it from reading books, you have to do it. It is experimental and sometimes the experiments don’t work, what we do then is talk about what happened and what might have worked better.
The journey you take as a creative is not all sunshine and light, it is not always playtime nor is it always easy. I love it when it is all of those things, but it often isn’t especially when you are starting. It can be bliss, peace, contentment, connection, but it can also be frustration, disappointment, an ego battleground and just plain boring.
But as with any new skill you have to practice and with practice comes ease. So don’t be afraid to start, it is only by starting that we can ever get to the good stuff.” ALISON HANLY