When it comes to creativity, why do we think in order to participate we need talent? And why do we believe talent is something we are either born with or not?
This is something that holds people back from even trying a creative pursuit, as inevitably we are not immediately ‘good’ at the activity. Maybe we’ve glorified our heroes too much, as being blessed with talent as a distinguishing factor, and we ignore the real hard work that goes into success.
I speak for myself when I say, it took me a while to get close to good at painting, and I’m still mastering it, I will always be working on improving my skills. There were many many bad paintings that had to happen before I achieved anything I was pleased with. I kept going because I had a vision of what I wanted to create, and this was stronger than the frustration of waiting on my ability to catch up with my ideas. I think as an artist you’re always in this predicament, waiting for your skills to match your ideas.
When people tell me I’m talented, I smile graciously, but there is a big part of me that feels like it’s a disservice to say it’s just talent. As I’ve worked really hard and spent many hours getting to where I can create art that connects with others.
I think the transcedent part of being an artist that I cannot claim as my own ‘hard work’ is tapping into intuition, rather than talent, it’s not like there’s a selective few that have the ability to be creative. I believe creativity is within everybody, no matter what your age or background. What defines people are the ones who put in the hours, which comes from the passion and vision. AND the people who allow themselves to tap into their intuition and let the creativity flow.
In a way the secret to creating really good art is getting out your own way and just getting on the canvas. Tap into your intuition, make the time, indulge your passions by curating your inspiration and then get to work! Everyone has this intuition and an authentic creative voice within them, people by their very nature are expressive and creative, we just need to find our unique outlet.“Great songs write themselves. You're just being led by the nose, or the ears. The skill is not to interfere with it too much. Ignore intelligence, ignore everything; just follow it where it takes you.” Keith Richards
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.”
― Albert Einstein
This talent myth can be a real blocker to people even trying past their first attempts, which I think comes from the ego. The ego is the side of the brain that’s designed to keep you safe from anything unpredictable. We have inherited this risk averse thinking from pre-historic age when staying alive was the primary concern of humans. Creativity is an unpredictable activity, so the logical brain will try ‘think you out’ of participating in this type of activity. ‘You’re not talented’ is a great excuse to giving things a go, and sounds like a very convincing argument.
The only way is through, and in the case of creative pursuit, that’s a bad song, a bad painting, a bad poem. In fact I believe it’s critical you go through this stage, as you then know what your idea of good work is. Remember when you’re making the art, the only person you should be looking to satisfy if you, the creator. The more you create the work you like, this will resonate with an audience, that’s one of the universal laws of creativity, to produce the art you want to see in the world.
“If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced” – Vincent Van Gogh
We also put a time limit on talent, and achieving ambitions, ‘young talent’ is upheld in our society as the golden ticket. So another lie the ego likes to tell us is that it’s too late to try something new, to develop a creative curiosity, and spend time on our passions.
But I’d like to remind you of some of the success stories for people over 40
Paul Cézanne was the main inspiration for the failed painter character in his friend Émile Zola’s 1885 novel L’œuvre. The real-life artist got his first solo show, with dealer Ambroise Vollard, when he was 56.
Grandma Moses didn’t get discovered by an art dealer—who spotted her work for sale at a country drug store—until she was 80. She had only begun painting a few years earlier.
Louise Bourgeois created her iconic Maman sculpture, which was part of the inaugural exhibition at the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in London, when she was 88 years old.
Yayoi Kusama had a survey of her work, at New York’s Center for International Contemporary Arts, when she was 60. Her fame has grown exponentially since then.
As an artist I often think the person who gets most pleasure from creativity is the creator, rather than the audience. Sometimes we get hung up on not being talented enough because we worry about what others’ think, but the real reward is in the pursuit and act of creativity. Once we start creating, it’s a process of unfolding, of becoming more authentic and getting into flow state.
Ruth Egon leads an online art membership, The Art Hub Community! We are an inspirational, nurturing and fun art community.
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