On becoming an artist...

Today I decided not to go home for lunch but to stay at work and enjoy the view from the verandah. It was a delightful day - overcast and with the slight promise of a shower of rain later in the afternoon. As I sat eating my lunch I decided to take a few minutes and have a go at drawing the tree in my line of vision. I have never been successful at drawing gum trees and have been constantly frustrated with the Australian landscape. Here is the result:

But... this time I think I might have 'got it'. At least it looks like a tree and even like a gum tree. I am excited.

It brings me to think over once again a comment that someone made at Summer School about how no-one thinks that people just pick up a musical instrument and just play it because they are talented or have a gift. Admittedly on rare occasions there are people who are able to do that but they are indeed rare geniuses. So, if that is the case, why then do people assume that either you can draw or you can't? It takes thousands of hours to become proficient at playing a musical instrument, and that usually means just focussing on one instrument and practising over and over again. Yet as artists we try to master many media and still expect that it can be done on talent alone.

I grew up thinking that I could not draw and always feeling frustrated that I couldn't because I had a very strong NEED to make things. When I was 12 I spent a lot of weeks in hospital and one of the nurses brought me some charcoal and paper and I began to copy pictures. I learnt that there was a whole new world out there, but once home and learning to live again I didn't have the opportunity to pursue art. There was no art at my school after Year 7 which now seems to me to be astounding! I went off into other directions and it wasn't until I was 37 that I began to explore the possibility of being an artist again.

To come back to today - I think I am beginning to see real progress with my drawing. I have practised and practised (and still need to more) and it seems to be working. And... I am happy!!!