I'm always surprised when people tell me they wish they could draw but they have no talent and so it isn't possible. Granted, drawing really well requires a certain degree of talent, as does any skill, but in all honesty, anyone can draw. And like any other skill, it can be learned and mastered. I don't know why people don't believe this when I tell them that once they learn the basics, they can draw just about anything. Take a class. Buy a book. There are a ton of books at Barnes and Noble, all of them called "You Can Learn to Draw in Six Easy Lessons" or some variation thereof, yet so many people think there is some great mystery involved in creating a drawing. You don't have to be an "artist" to make a pretty picture.
Granted, being an actual artist is very different from someone who likes to draw just because it's fun or because they enjoy meeting new people in an adult ed art class at the local tech school. While an artist can learn new skills and develop new techniques and abilities, I don't believe that someone who isn't an artist in their heart and soul can "become" one through a few lessons. Either you is or you isn't. But even the isn'ts can master enough skill to make a pretty good show of it. It's what you carry inside you that makes the difference between the Sunday Draw-er and the Real Artist. When art is the air you breath all day long and every little thing you do is somehow done with creativity on the brain and you can do nothing less, then you're an artist.
But to all my non-artist friends who swear they can't draw so much as a stick figure: try it, you just might be surprised at what you can do and how quickly you can do it. Honestly.
Sketch of Edison Jack standing, graphite on handmade paper, 2008.
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