Shawn Barbers talk about Talent

[jrduncanart]

so true

[tobynsaunders]

Nonsense: talent IS a part of making art that people like... art that has superficial appeal. Some people, apparently, simply aren't born with good drawing brain-hardware & so no matter how much they try to develop their brain-software (e.g. by spending 10 years, every day working at it), they won't be able to compete with those who have that hardware, naturally. It's the same with athletes: if you weren't born with particular muscle shapes, you can't compete.

[SuperVbob]

@tobynsaunders art that has superficial appeal? that is the case sometimes. but im hoping that you believe that art is more than just superficial. if someone says your art sucks and another person says its good how do you gauge your "talent"? painting and drawing can be learned. period. and its not the same with athletes. because in art you can still build your muscle and not have to worry about competing with anyone because art is not a race or game.

[SuperVbob]

@tobynsaunders art that has superficial appeal? that is the case sometimes. but im hoping that you believe that art is more than just superficial. if someone says your art sucks and another person says its good how do you gauge your "talent"? painting and drawing can be learned. period. and its not the same with athletes. because in art you can still build your muscle and not have to worry about competing with anyone because art is not a race or game.

[ianlutz]

there is NO talent , only a learned skill..anyone can paint. Anyone can make hotdogs, but most of them are made from pig scraps and are not good for you....though they may be appealing on the outside....they are still crap!!flavour of the month

[neonaction]

Natural ability without education has more often attained to glory and virtue than education without natural ability.

Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)

[neonaction]

welll you've got to be talented to be good a something, learning can't take you that far. Talent is crucial. Don't kid yourself people. lol

[normloman]

Talent is worthless. Beginner's luck.

Skill gives you control over your medium. Good to have, but not essential.

Drive makes acquiring skill easier. Still expendable.

The only thing an artist need have is honesty.

[freakpit69]

the fact that he is humble makes him even cooler

[507blue]

i thought i could paint,until i saw these artis,now i look at my work and im not happy!!!!!!!!

[Thorns85]

Well, I've always understood talent as a latent or God-given ability that one has from birth. Skill is a different thing all together. Skill is something that is learned and practiced over a period of time. Talent can be a catalyst for skill, but they are not the same. But I totally agree... whatever it is you're striving to achieve, be it painting, music or whatever, never stop and never give up... you'll get there.

[PostalCode11111]

Average time it takes to master anything (music, sport, art, science, math): 10,000 hours. Various reports from Malcom Gladwell's book: Outliers.

[Artytom]

I agree that drawing can be learned. It's the passion that drives talent to evolve. Passion is a gift that coupled with talent makes an enormous difference.

I don't think that Tesla was merely talented. Real genius like that seems to come from somewhere outside of the person. They seem to be connected to information that goes beyond the limits of any training or education.

[snowfalling4ever]

god I suck at painting! I mostly do pencil drawings but i want to get better at painting! one of my goals in life :3

[Panditha666]

again without drawing you cannot do painting, drawing is the basis of painting. ask borgerou or ingres.

[paladin939]

So true. You have to have a passion in what you do. Something that keeps you up late at night. Something that you truly love doing. Talent is great, but it is just not enough. Practice, practice, practice.

[Panditha666]

exactly! i know so many people who say oh that davinci was talented so was borgerou! talent comes from practice and drive, that is what talent is, being born with a passion to do sometihng you love or to craft! borgerou was the same way! some even started later on, it all depeds on who or what you do, hell mark ryden was a crap drawer and painter it was his brother who drove him to do that, and in high school he did it.

[jf1281]

I agree with most of what your saying but I think passion is practice and drive. Talent I do believe is something that people naturally have, but it is overrrated. Talent is simply getting a out of the gate faster. It is passion to get better and to stay fired at 3 am in the morning. I have a saying that goes: passion killed the clock. If you love it enough, it doesn't matter the time, you just can't stop.

[Panditha666]

true but there are talented people who i know that are artists that could never paint like borgerou, barber or others, simply because they think oh i already am talented so its okay i dont need to pratice etc. and yeah i agree with the saying. especially if it doesnt matter the time and you just cant stop. i on the other hand due to my aspergers and ocd NEED tsomeone to take away my work other wise i ruin it. ive done that way too much!

[jf1281]

I once knew someone with a similar condition and I can see now where you are coming from. I also have issues with "knowing when to stop" but certainly not as in your case. For those people who think that "they're so talented" and don't need to practice I feel sorry for them. Because their arrogance is killing their abilities. I have been called talented at drawing and painting since I was 7 and it wasn't until my time in Iraq(age 24) did I realize how much time I wasted.

[nakedbrush]

the unside down photo reference is a good technique that is worth mention.

[yoyorayoo]

Has he ever heard of the competition btwn Nikola Tesla and Edison. Look at Jim Morrison. Sometimes blazing talent is all that's there and some luck. Some audacity. Who is going to allow you? Who's going to stop me? Ayn Rand.

[toolrights]

I fully agree, talent can only take you so far before you have to learn technique.