The Talent Myth

I sometimes find myself in a situation where a person tells me they could never be a painter because they don't have any talent. I tell them that it is a very popular misconception that to be a good artist you need to be born with The Gift. I tell them that 'talent' actually comes from a lot of hard work, and that painting is a skill to be learned, just like brain surgery, or making couch doilies. I tell them that when I was a kid, I wasn't any better than they were.

Usually, this conversation ends with them not believing me, and me thinking maybe it's time to stop trying to talk people into this concept.

Today, that all changes! I have proof to back my reasoning! I am going to show you what my artwork looked like when I was 7 years old. For some sadistic reason my mother recently framed this and hung it in her home, where I can now see it on a daily basis:


Yes. Happy Faher's Day. (See inscription in the clouds.)

This was the best I could come up with before I had training or lessons of any kind, and my 7-year-old self thought it was pretty kick-ass. For some added fun, try figuring out what this painting is actually OF, and then click on the picture below for some startling revelations.

Today's Thoughts, and Socks

Am I too old to be making a Christmas list in the middle of June? (I'm twenty-three and a half.)

Also, is it a bad idea to choose who I want to date based on their musical preferences?

On that subject, here is a drawing I really like of Mr. Thom Yorke (from Radiohead):


It's by a dude named Matt Cipov. Some of his stuff is a little creepy for my tastes, but I love his style. And he has things that aren't creepy, like owls.

I will either wait until Christmas, or purchase it as soon as an occasion arises where I have an excuse for buying another awesome thing that I don't necessarily need. Maybe as a celebratory present for finally finding a sock that matches one of my other socks.

YOU, with all your riches, can buy it immediately right here. :)

Plein Air painting: Dirt, oranges, and a banana.

So, today I had what I call my first real plein air painting session. For all you painters who live in a hole, and for regular people who don't paint: plein air basically just means painting outdoors. It comes from the French en plein air, 'in the open air.'

Anyway, I call it my first real plein air painting because I thought that I had never done it before, but then I realized I that I actually have. But the other times I was making watercolor sketches and not necessarily trying to make anything look like real life, and this time I was using oils and wearing a painting hat.

I decided not to get too adventurous for my first time, so I headed to Prospect Park in Redlands. I parked, prepared for a long expedition to find The Perfect Spot, and found it in an orange grove after looking around for about 10 seconds. Feeling like I should take this thing more seriously, I wandered around checking out the other options, and eventually ended up back where I started, about 15 feet from the parking lot.

Plein air painting definitely brought a whole new set of Challenges. Namely:

The Challenge of how to not drop your brushes in the dirt a second time.

The Challenge of how to not use unladylike language when the wind is blowing everything goddamn everywhere.

And most of all, the Challenge of what to paint when the lighting is changing every five minutes--from completely overcast, to so-blindingly-bright you can't tell if you are painting with ultramarine blue, or a banana.

But all in all, I ended up having what I would categorize as a really fun time. Which for some reason kind of surprised me. And as an added bonus, I learned some things that are going to help me in the studio. I won't share those things with you. It would be too boring, and useful.

I was out for about 2 1/2 hours, and here is what I came up with:


Love, Nat

Another study

Here's my latest study from Joseph's workshop. Only one more class to go! :(


Nude study #9

Abbott Handerson Thayer

I discovered this wonderful artist today (b. 1849-1921). Not sure how I've never heard of him before. He was a student of Jean-Leon Gerome, which explains some of his wonderfulness. I'm not really up for researching more interesting facts about his life and times, so just enjoy the paintings.

Angel by Abbott Thayer

detail of Angel

Virgin Enthroned

Joseph Todorovitch workshop

I'm about halfway through my 10-class figure painting workshop with Joseph Todorovitch. I met Joseph a few weeks ago at a portrait demo he did, and I was totally blown away. When I look at the huge advances I have made with my own painting since I started, it makes me cringe to think about how close I was to staying home that night and watching Arrested Development. Not to belittle the magical, life-changing powers of Arrested Development .

Here is his website, in case you aren't familiar with his artwork: www.onejoseph.com. He is amazing.

Here's my most recent painting from the workshop!

Capri

This painting is called Capri, by John Singer Sargent.

I love how it completely makes me feel like I'm there, with the wind and the music. It makes me want to travel. Or at least buy a tambourine.



And speaking of very fine accomplishments, here is a picture of a hut I made with my best friend in Santa Barbara. I am probably still more proud of this than anything else.

Cute baby drawing

It's going to be awhile before I have kids, so I am very happy to have found a constructive channel for my baby-brain. This is a sketch I did the other day for my next painting.

Study of Ethan, conte on paper