Many people think they can’t make art. That they aren’t creative enough. This is so not true. Art lives and breaths in everyone.
When I took an online course from Aldolfo Serra, he showed me that no matter what your background, you can bring a fresh perspective to art. Say, for example that you’re a biologist, you will have a unique view of anatomy and that will come across in your drawings. An architect might think of volume and underlying structure in their sketches.
For me, I approach drawing from the mindset of a writer. This is why so many of my illustrations include words. As I sketched some of the first pictures for this blog, they came off feeling flat. Then I added words, and it was like a sip of cool water in the desert — so refreshing.
Now there is a difference between technical expertise and artistic vision. If an artist wishes to push themselves further, then these skills would be necessary. However, a casual artist needs only focus on the creative urge.
A perfect example comes from my dad. He teaches an introductory figurative drawing course at a local college geared to gamers or graphic designers. Most of these people don’t need to become astounding figurative artists. Instead, the course is meant to expand their skills and scope of art.
So when he approached me with some drawings that looked somewhat childish, I agreed that the skill was lacking. But the creativity was there. You only have to look at artists like Chagall or Picasso to see that having perfect technical skill is not necessary to create art. When my dad came back to his class with this viewpoint, the students responded enthusiastically. And he may have just saved their artistic careers.
We, the artist, are hard enough on our own work. We don’t need to be crushed from the outside. If you know someone who’s stepping into the art world, encourage them. And if it’s you, remember to pull your own skill set into your art.
Draw on!
Tim Kane
