Artistic Talent - Nature vs. Nurture

I gratefully receive all compliments on my gift of being able to paint and draw.  They're like that one great swing in golf, they keep me coming back to the easel (or green).  Today, after reading a wonderful comment from Deb P,  I read a post by Seth Godin on whether people succeed because they have something “special” and started to wondered if painting is a "gift."

I believe that genetics gives us a foundation, but we are strongly influenced by our environment from the day we are born.  Our talents might have some link to those strands of DNA, but they would never surface without some encouragement.  (See cultivating young artists.)  At some young age, I probably made a little sketch, showed it to a relative, which prompted some type of positive feedback.  Then, another little sketch and a bit more gushing from an aunt, and so on…  I think that is how it all started for me. 

As a late bloomer, I’m now seriously pursuing my art and my “gift” is consistently strengthened with:

• Many hours of painting to improve my techniques
• Evening classes at Rhode Island School of Design (and related homework)
• Checking websites of other artists
• Learning how to market art
• Attending gallery openings to understand what makes a good contemporary artist
• Attending art association meetings
• Reading books on selling art
• Incorporating technology into the process
• General networking

Please keep those kudos coming.  I have a long way to grow and I can use all the reassuring I can get as I strive to be a better artist.

Some quotes on talent:

“Everyone has talent.  What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.” – Erica Jong.

“Talent is cheaper than table salt.  What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” – Stephen King.

“Hard work without talent is a shame, but talent without hard work is a tragedy.” – Robert Half.

“I know quite certainly that I myself have no special talent; curiosity, obsession and dogged endurance, combined with self-criticism, have brought me to my ideas.” - Albert Einstein