On the topic of Talent

If you have a talent, use it in every which way possible. Don't hoard it. Don't dole it out like a miser. Spend it lavishly like a millionaire intent on going broke.  
  -Brendan Francis


Talent seems to be a pretty divisive topic.  People either seem to fervently believe there is no such thing as talent and that people who do believe in talent are just making excuses, or they believe that there is such a thing as being naturally talented and that can give a person a leg up in their endeavors.  I am a little unsure what people are making excuses for by believing in talent, it seems to cover both ends of the spectrum from making excuses as to why they will never be good, or making excuses as to why they are great.  I think that at the end of the day it may, as many things do, boil down to fear.  I think that some people are afraid that since they don't consider themselves to have talent in the thing that really interests them, that means that no matter how hard they work they can never be 'great' at it.  That is just silly.  There are many paths to the same destination and many starting points, no two people will have the same journey.  So one person's 'talent' may mean they start a little closer to the finishing line than you do that by no means invalidates your journey or prevents you from reaching the same finishing line.  Talent is really only a head start, everyone still has to put in the hard work to be great.  So some people have a natural inclination for a task and some people don't, at the end of the day it doesn't matter, what matters is what you do with what you've got.

Personal Post: A brief history

      My history with art goes back to my childhood and it is probably not unique.  As a kid I loved to draw and I loved comics.  For a time I was certain that I would grow up to be a comic book artist.  As I got older though various pressures asserted themselves and the dream was abandoned.  I got it into my head that I needed to be a computer programmer so I pursued that route.  Now all these years later I am a computer programmer and but an especially happy one.  Over the last few years the old dream of being an artist has appeared to remind me of my first passion.  I've decided that I need to follow that passion and see where it leads me.  It might be that I will be able to work out some sort of programmer / artist hybrid career where programming is my bread and butter and art is a hobby or secondary source of income.  It may mean a total career change.  In any event I am committing myself to finding out.

    So why this blog?  The purpose of this blog is two fold.  One is to provide the impetus to myself to be in an art mindset everyday and to be sketching every day.  Two is to provide others out there who are just starting down their own path resources that I have found and perhaps companionship of a sort.  People are afraid to put their mistakes and crappy work out there for others to learn from.  I have decided to suck it up and put it out there.  If you are just starting out you are not alone.  Those mistakes you are making?  You are not the only one to make them.  Your drawing looks like crap?  Well take heart, so does mine :D.  Together we might be able to learn more than we could alone.