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Is art a natural talent or something you can get good at?

I’ve always wondered whether being good at art is something which you are naturally talented at or whether it’s a skill you can get good at. To me a lot of the really impressive artists seem to be able to do it really well without working themselves to hard, which to me suggests that it’s a talent rather than something they really have to practise to get good at. I may be making a huge generalisation here but it seems to me that being able to do art is a lot of the time something you can or cannot do, but what I wanted to know was what do others think, can someone who isn’t particularly artistic get good at it or are the best artists always the ones who have a natural talent in it?

Reply 1

cpj1987

15

I think it's a natural talent thing, really.
I spent years trying to become good at art, but though I eventually managed to learn how to draw cartoon people, that was as far as I could get, and I've lost that skill again now.
My brother has been an excellent artist from a very young age, without even trying, he just visualises and draws and the result is always perfect.

Reply 2

username196545

19

Deffo talent; you can improve at art, but never enough to draw the Mona Lisa...

Reply 3

_Hayko

10

Hmm depends, some people are natually really good at being able to draw what they see, however it is also a skill that can be learned.
See http://www.drawright.com/

Reply 4

emilyjane_09

Well because I showed an interest in art at a young age, I was always drawing/painting and have done for years. (I'm enjoy art, but am nothing special at it.)
So it's probably a natural interest/curiosity that people develop. I think you have to have the patience to sit down and want to do it... like with a musical instrument.

Reply 5

gottastudy

Music...I believe you have to have the patience and determination, otherwise, even if you do have a "natural talent" in an area, you wouldn't really be improving.

Same concept with Art. I personally think you have to have a "creative mind" in order to be a "natural".

Reply 6

Nintendus

I think its natural talent. You can get better maybe (although in my case I doubt this very much).

Reply 7

Vickyy

2

I don't really believe in natural talent. I think people can be more inclined to be good at certain things, but not naturally talented, as such. I like to think that I can develop almost any skill if I put my mind to it.

Maybe some people see things differently, are more observant, or more logical, making them inclined to be better at certain things. But I very rarely call people 'talented'. Personally I'd find it quite annoying if people acted as if my skills are "easy for you because you're talented at it", not realising how much effort I might have put in.

Reply 8

ElectricOceans

OP

1

Bubbles*de*Milo

Deffo talent; you can improve at art, but never enough to draw the Mona Lisa...

The Mona Lisa is definitely an example of an extremely talented artist, but art is much broader than being able to create pieces such as the Mona Lisa. A lot of artists develop their own styles which depending on your own viewpoint can be just as good when compared to something such as the Mona Lisa. I think that people find the Mona Lisa so fascinating because of its realism but to be honest although it’s a very important piece in art it is quite an overrated piece, and there are plenty of pieces of art which demonstrate skills just as good. When I mentioned art as a natural talent I was mainly referring to amateur or student artists rather than the obvious talents such as Da Vinci.

Reply 9

Pelican

Masterpieces require a certain mind but I think anybody can learn to create a decent picture. Just how decent it could be I don't know...

Reply 10

ElectricOceans

OP

1

Pelican

Masterpieces require a certain mind but I think anybody can learn to create a decent picture. Just how decent it could be I don't know...

Its rare many people will ever produce something which is a masterpiece but sometimes masterpieces tend to be a matter of opinion, in most artwork you can find an aspect of it which can be improved and I think to some extent art is all about making improvements to progress as an artist. I think we all have different abilities to what we can do within art and I do think a certain natural talent exists but I do agree with you, we can all learn certain skills to create something at least decent. it’s the same as learning a musical instrument I suppose, you need to learn it before you can apply what you have learnt.

Reply 11

inksplodge

17

I think it's both. You should have a natural talent but nobody ever got good without practice.

Reply 12

icapturethecastle

16

i think whatever it is u need to have an interest in it in th efirst place and determination to succeed in it...

saying this cos, i was pretty crap in art until gcse, when it actually mattered...put some effort in and i got quite a bit better at it

so i guess u could be naturally good at it, but u can definitely pick it up by practicing :smile:

Reply 13

Profesh

20

I've always been naturally very good, and continue to improve passively with the onset of age, but I daresay I'd be far better if I could be bothered to investigate anatomy in a meticulous, diligent and scholarly fashion rather than simply extrapolating from countless graphic-novels.

Reply 14

talespirit

15

You can practice it to near expert but talent definitely helps make life easier. If you come to think of it it's about hand-mind co-ordination. (same principal you can practice to be good at playing music, sport, but talent would get you further)

Reply 15

Aiko

16

It's largely dependent on what is interpreted as 'good'. Through perseverance and continued practice I'm sure many could become technically able. Natural talent is something else entirely.

Reply 16

Franc Vouloir

11

There's a huge & obvious difference between being able to draw & being able to create truly worthwhile visual art. Paintings produced without a certain degree of historical & philosophical education are generally (there are obvious exceptions) very dull: the highly detailed painting that your aunt makes of her cat or her garden, &c.

Reply 17

Aiko

16

Franc Vouloir

There's a huge & obvious difference between being able to draw & being able to create truly worthwhile visual art. Paintings produced without a certain degree of historical & philosophical education are generally (there are obvious exceptions) very dull: the highly detailed painting that your aunt makes of her cat or her garden, &c.

I agree. There's a distinct difference between someone who is technically proficient, whether through practice or naturally and someone who is genuinely creative and approaches the medium in an entirely different way. Technique doesn't equate creativity.

Reply 18

willenium

10

of course there is a detachment between technical skill and artistic ability, but all art is also craft and to become good at a craft requires practice, patience and a desire to learn; it's all very well and good to have a great idea, but if you don't have the concrete skills to implement the idea in a creative way, whether it's poetry, painting or prose, then your attempt will fail

Reply 19

Aiko

16

willenium

of course there is a detachment between technical skill and artistic ability, but all art is also craft and to become good at a craft requires practice, patience and a desire to learn; it's all very well and good to have a great idea, but if you don't have the concrete skills to implement the idea in a creative way, whether it's poetry, painting or prose, then your attempt will fail

It's difficult to describe what makes a naturally talented artist, - certainly not the distinction between having a 'good idea', - it's more than that. My point was that I've encountered many 'technically able' craftsman during my time, either during my education or professionally, but there's something evidently different between natural talent and simply regarding art as nothing more than a craft that can be acquired through practice. It's not that black and white.

Hmm, I'm finding it difficult to explain this freely in English. :frown:

Is art a natural talent or something you can get good at?

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