by Deborah English

Created on: September 02, 2007

One day when you are four years old, you don't just pick up a pencil and accurately portray an object. However, a surge of pure transcendent energy might empty itself through your drawing tool and make itself known on paper. And this could be called ART. But is it a truthful manifestation of what the Expresser was getting at? (Okay, possibly, at age four, it is.)

I believe that certain people are born with an innate leaning towards the Artistic. They naturally see objects and life in a more precise way than others. They notice where the light falls on the object, that it has three shadows, six tones of green, two of yellow and four of red, that it is shiny and sleek yet conversely: organic looking. We might look and recognize that the object is a red tomato with a green stalk.

I am convinced that Artists (all genres of) are more sensitive to the world around them than others. Moreover, because of this heightened perception, the urge to let this seeing and feeling out: to express their interpretation of it is overwhelming. This expression is Art in its most primal form. However, it is skill which makes an Artist an effective one.

For instance, Visual Artists invest much time into observing and practicing the interpretation of that observation, by drawing, painting, sculpting etc. Even when a student's natural inclination towards creating art is obvious, the discipline of observation must always be honed and developed until it becomes a skill. This is the nature of skill.

Skill is a set of learned techniques. It is the ability to use the appropriate tools effectively.

All artistic pursuit is developed in the same way. Ballet Dancers spend years stretching and strengthening their bodies and learning the prescribed positions to develop the skills to effectively express themselves in dance.
Musicians learn notes and chords and how to extract them from their chosen instrument so that are able to create music.

Artistic Skill is the ability to express your vision (physical and metaphorical) accurately. After all, Art is communication.

Learn more about this author, Deborah English.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.