Each and every aspect of my art career has been rewarding…from the actual art creation process itself… to spreading God’s messages of joy and hope through the art I create…to connecting with other artists and forging life-long friendships…to meeting and getting to know the people with whom my art resonates. Perhaps the most rewarding, though, has been teaching others to paint…others, like me, who once believed the misconception that natural artistic talent is required to be an artist. I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve heard, “I wish I could paint like that”. When I reply, “you can!”, I usually hear laughter, followed by a comment along the lines of “I can’t even draw a stick figure.”
So many people I’ve met believe the age-old myth that natural artistic talent is required to be a successful artist. I once believed it, too. As a child, I loved art class in school but never considered art as a career, because I recognized the fact that I wasn’t born with artistic talent. I often tried to draw when I was younger…mostly animals that turned out looking nothing like they should when I was finished. So I gravitated to paint by number sets in my younger years. I enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment when I finished those paintings, but still, it wasn’t completely fulfilling and I found myself still wishing I had been born with natural artistic ability.
My Dad and my brother both were math whizzes, and I seemed to have inherited that talent for working with numbers. I was logical, analytical, and methodical…everything had to be precise. Left-brained. Of course I couldn’t create art, as it defies all of that (or so I thought). So, for a career, accounting it was, and thoughts of art were pushed to the side…temporarily. (What is meant to be will always find a way!)
Fast forward to my mid 20s…Bob Ross was all the rage on PBS, and I’d sit with my Mom every Saturday afternoon to watch him paint. Mom bought me a Bob Ross art set for Christmas and asked me to paint something for her to hang in her home. The first couple paintings were terrible. Still, to my dismay, she hung one of those paintings in her bedroom and continued to encourage me. Perhaps she recognized what I couldn’t at that time…that I was destined to create art successfully, someday. Another person who was influential in my life at the time (whose name I won’t mention here) had an opposite reaction to my first paintings and told me I was wasting my time as I wasn’t, and never would be, an artist. Unfortunately, I believed those words and never painted again, until…
Mom passed in 2014. Not long after her death, I felt that old familiar yearning to create art rising from a need to express my grief and find solace. She was inspiring me from beyond. For a few months, I ignored that yearning, as doubt continued to echo in my mind, but God soon intervened. In early 2015, I enrolled in an oil painting class taught by a Bob Ross Certified Instructor. No masterpiece emerged that day, but passion like I’d never felt before was ignited. Days turned into months, and months into years. I honed my skills, learning from professionals both online and in person. I started my own small business, Inspired Brushworks Art Studio, in 2017. I became a certified art instructor through Wilson Bickford’s Trained Teacher program later that year. Even with all of those accomplishments, I didn’t think of myself as an artist. Perhaps I was still subconsciously holding to the belief that I could never be an artist due to the lack of natural ability. Ah yes, the myth rears its ugly head.
I imagine that defining oneself as an artist is a gradual process and doesn’t happen in one specific moment in time for most. For me, however, it did. I was participating in a vendor show, when a lady approached my booth and asked, “Who is the artist?” I stopped to think for a moment and proudly said, “I am!” Validation from someone else was the catalyst I needed to see myself how others saw me. I am an artist! Myth busted!
In 2023, I enrolled in the online Mastery Program of Milan Art Institute. I’ve had many of my artist friends ask if I’d recommend the program, which I’ll be answering in a separate blog post soon, as I have too much to say on that topic to include here. One of the sections of the program focuses on helping you discover your voice…what you’re destined to paint and in what style…why you feel compelled to create art. What is your artistic purpose? Delving into those questions required a lot of soul-searching and reflection, and perhaps I wouldn’t have seen finding my voice as a necessary component of my art journey without the Mastery Program. The process was emotional and led me to realizations that were life-changing. God is calling me to be an artist! He is calling me to create art that glorifies Him and brings hope, joy, and healing to others. That is my purpose and the voice through which I create. In another recent blog post titled “My Promised Land”, I share the inspiring story of how I came to that realization. You can read it here. Once I discovered my purpose, it became my mission to create art that carries whispers of joy and echoes of hope into the world. With every brushstroke, I seek to weave threads of positivity into the fabric of existence. I pray for God’s hand to guide mine…to infuse each piece I create with a touch of divine light, and to use me to reach those that so desperately need to hear His message.
If you’re reading this blog post, chances are you also feeling called to create art but have been resisting due to the “talent myth”. Let my story reshape your perspective. I stand as living proof that natural artistic ability need not be a prerequisite for an enriching and successful art career. The canvas awaits whoever dares to place brushstrokes on them, armed not with innate talent, but with determination, resolve, and unwavering passion. In a world shadowed by evil and despair, we artists emerge as beacons of hope. Through the pieces we create, we weave light into the darkness. The world needs more of us! Let go of all that is holding you back and take the first step on your art journey, whether it be an online or in-person class, watching art-related YouTube content, or simply experimenting with paint on a canvas. If you have the same passion as I, the art journey won’t be something you have to force yourself to travel. It will become a basic need…one that you simply have to fulfill. Learn from my mistakes. Don’t waste years of your life ignoring your passion and calling because of an age-old art myth that I’ve just busted! Get out there, acquire those art skills, and become the artist you’ve always dreamed of becoming! With God, all things are possible!