Are people naturally born artistic?

I started to wonder, are people naturally born artistic? I say this because I remember from my childhood; I and my friend were drawing a picture. (Bugs bunny I think). And I was horrible at drawing, but she drew him amazing, and both of us had no past experience. Now I have always been bad at drawing, and I know people who naturally excel. Of course practise helps, but then I saw a show (it was on A&E showing different talents of different people), were a girl drew masterpieces at age 5(might of been 4 years old or 6 years old). Now there has to be something in her genes or her brain that makes her excel at visual arts. Now I ask you ATS; Are people naturally artistic? I would also like to extend this to being a genius in mathematics and other subjects. Are people more inclined to being a genius then other people? Like people who can read novels at age 3-4?

reply to post by Maddogkull


I was born unartistic. A "words" person.
But my mother was a talented amateur artist. The interesting point is that she had a stroke in her 70's which affected the left side of her body; after that, she stopped attempting to draw or paint. I believe she felt (after one test) that the skill had gone.

I was drawing complex sketches at the age of 2 with zero training.

My freshman year in high school I was placed in the senior art class and had pieces for sell at our local Artbreak and Red River Revel. Sadly I didn't sell any, but that does happen when your subject matter is Apocalyptic. Would of been good covers for heavy metal albums though.

[edit on 3/7/10 by MikeboydUS]

interesting thread op,



I for one believe that you are either born predisposed to be an artist or you are not..
I spent alot of time when i was younger trying to copy the artwork in my favorite comic books, and somehow everything always came out like stick figures..
after about 3 years of making no progress, and seeing the amazing art one of my friends was producing with little to no effort i basically gave up


~meathead

it definately runs in the family. the odd thing is that one art doesn't necessarily flow into another art.

for instance, i've played guitar for going on 10 years but i have never and never really expect to excel at it or make it sound like something i was naturally good at. i just see it as a hobby that i enjoy and maybe in 20 years i'llb e really good.

drawing on the other hand comes so natrually to me that it's almost pathetic. it's so easy i rarely do it because it's not much of a challenge. i drew the alien in my avatar after messing with adobe for maybe an hour or two. i'd never used any type of software like that before. just one of those things.

and yeah, everyone in my family is artistic. so yeah you're definately born with it.

I cannot do paintings yet I can draw to real life scale and detail. Perhaps part of it is in training and the fundamental steps to this path.

I call drawing 2-dimensional art, and it is hard for me even though I do it often in architectural renderings. My gift lies in 3-dimensional art, sculpting; this is where I excel. I am smitten by the flower especially the Rose. I have rendered them in metal, paper, and multimedia. Once I crafted blooms that were over 2 feet across, but I prefer 2-4 inches instead.

I was born seeing pictures in my mind, everything is in 3 dimensions not 2 dimensions; if I can see it in my mind I can craft it whether it is a building or a flower.

Each of us has talents, and not all Art is expressed in physical form; perhaps the actions of a man is also artfully spoken.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/8b177648d3f3.jpg[/atsimg]

when i was young i used to draw nicely with no training from anyone. Now i am not that good. Actually suddenly i feel the urge to draw it comes. I even draw 3d pictures nicely at those rare times. Other times when i try to draw something it doesnt happen. Its like my inuition or something chooses the time. Everything for me was like that. I am a little familiar with chemicals(designed a bomb when i was 9th grade), maths, quantum physics,photography,psychology, occult- scrying, conjuring etc,, chaos magic,, I even have little foresight before stuff and a lot of deja vu stuff. But none of this in my control.

I guess nature has a way in my life. Being artistic is a gift i guess. I guess its a kind of meditation, connecting with the macrocosm and letting it flow through you. After all,"Truth is stranger than fiction". So maybe i guess it is associated with natural born skills.

reply to post by Greensage


thanks for the new wallpaper!!!

I could spend 4 years trying to reproduce that with divinci coaching me and i would still fail horribly lol.


~meathead

It is a "natural" talent so to speak but can be taught. All "artistic" means is that you can tell your hand to do what your mind is picturing. Some of us just need a little less help.

reply to post by LeaderOfProgress


The technical aspect of it can be taught over time. A person with no artistic talent can eventually produce photorealistic art with the proper training.

Creativity on the other hand is something that cannot be taught.

There is a huge difference between still life images and portraits and say the works of Salvador Dali and H.R. Giger.

in order to operate in reality, the static mind which exists in the "now" must be able to project itself into the future. in this way, we are able to navigate a path from here to there, yes?

well, it is this ability to project one's mind into the non-local temporal and spatial environment which accounts for the essential artistic ability.

in terms of what poster greensage has posted above, they have turned a rose into something that is not a rose. and likewise, we as the viewers of this object must follow the artist out into this non-local landscape and retrieve this information for ourselves.

by venturing out in this way, both the artist and the viewer are able to create subjective associations which are not related logically or causally to the original object or concept. this is called "imagination". imagination, fantasy, and intelligence are the very defining traits of art. thus: art is life.

the reason that we are tempted to think that certain people are more capable of producing art than others is that most people have a very constricted definition of what is art. IMO, what most people consider art is actually a subtle form of either pornography or propaganda.


but, as we all have the ability to project our minds into the non-local landscape, we all have the ability to be artists.


reply to post by MikeboydUS


i would very much like to see an example of your work.

A gift is a gift, you either have it or you dont

I would love to get to know numbers (math) a little better and I have improved since I became interested but I can draw, play instruments.

Math was always a really hard subject for me, music and art flowed so I suppose I tended to do what came easy and ignored the rest.

I dont think it impossible to learn anything but when you have a natural talent, it isnt learnt - its given (meant to be)

Originally posted by Mike Stivic
reply to post by Greensage

 

thanks for the new wallpaper!!!

I could spend 4 years trying to reproduce that with divinci coaching me and i would still fail horribly lol.


~meathead

Thanks, that's a real compliment!

Did you want a different color? I have Emerald, Diamond, Topaz, Garnet, and Opal. I went ahead and threw them into my photo-album, help yourself!

Greensage's Photo Album



[edit on 7/3/2010 by Greensage]

[edit on 7/3/2010 by Greensage]

[edit on 7/3/2010 by Greensage]

I personally think its all about having an ability to become a story, a situation, a feeling, a mindset etc..

This is nothing more than an ability, that is only developed in people who in some point in life, needed to do this, to survive.

Crisis created this condition.

It is mostly a way for the ego to reason with the super-ego.

I myself live under this sick relationship everyday, i am not pointing any fingers, let me remind you.

But still, i bet the true artists of the world would rather loose this gift for a normal life,,,

Originally posted by fulllspectrum


But still, i bet the true artists of the world would rather loose this gift for a normal life,,,

And you would lose that bet. I thank the Good Lord every day for blessing me with what little talent I have. And it's that gift that affords me a means to live a normal life.

What is a true artist? IMO, anyone that makes almost anything where once there was nothing.

I think I was born artistic;
Ive been into art as long as I could remember;
When I was 2 or 3 years old I was drawing pictures from comic books and they were really good;
When I turned 16 or 17 I started getting into music and have been into it ever since and Im 27 now

I've been drawing since I can remember. I am fully self taught and aside from music it was the only subject I got straight A's in. Unfortunately, because I am also interested in science I was unable to persue both art and music, so I just opted for art. I was actively "downgraded" by one art teacher when I was 13 to drawing simpler things. I still don't know why. I drew a perfect still life of a bear in pastels and she drew straight over it with black in the shadows where I had a very complimentary deep purple. I was not amused.

Anyway, I can take breaks of months and come back drawing at a competent level, and I do photorealism in both granite and in digital art. I am so-so with pastels, good with all kinds of pencils, and pitiful with real paint. I just seem to click with pencils, and even though I have never had a lesson in my life, I improvise on a keyboard and make it sound quite good. I can't read music, but I can still compose it and I make my own electronica music.

My boyfriend expressed an interest in learning how to draw. I offered to teach him, and since he wasn't born with this talent it would be a good experiment to see if this gift can be taught. I hope it can be so more people can feel the pride and accomplishment that I feel when I do something really good.

Originally posted by Maddogkull
Now I ask you ATS; Are people naturally artistic? I would also like to extend this to being a genius in mathematics and other subjects. Are people more inclined to being a genius then other people? Like people who can read novels at age 3-4?

First of all, it is appropriate to link being artistic to being a genius at Maths , etc. Both involve using the right side of the brain.

I believe that simply being good in Maths is using the left side of the brain but being a genius in Maths is using the right side of the brain. There is a difference.

I do have an issue with the way autistic people and those diagnosed with aspergers are treated. In my view these people are not suffering from a condition. They are simply using too much the right side of the brain and they are not capable of adapting to society's false and artificial rules of engagement.

To come back to your point, it is all about predisposition. I personally believe that it is the passion within a person that confers artistic talent or mathematical genius. Is is only my personal lay person's opinion.

Originally posted by Mike Stivic
interesting thread op,



I for one believe that you are either born predisposed to be an artist or you are not..
I spent alot of time when i was younger trying to copy the artwork in my favorite comic books, and somehow everything always came out like stick figures..
after about 3 years of making no progress, and seeing the amazing art one of my friends was producing with little to no effort i basically gave up

~meathead

Same story. Some got it, some don't. I've seen enough to know that each have their "style" heh.

reply to post by Greensage

Each of us has talents, and not all Art is expressed in physical form; perhaps the actions of a man is also artfully spoken.

Smooth... very smooth.