I recently had a conversation that went a little like this, but I am paraphrasing.

The other person: “You sure have a wonderful gift.”

Me: “So, do you think it is a Gift? Do you have to work for a gift?”

The other person appears to ignore my question and said, “I have all the supplies, but I just don’t have the time or the talent to do anything right now.. I’d love to take lessons, but nothing is available locally.”

Me: “I know a website that has free drawing lessons. It’s named Drawspace.com.”

The other person: “If I gave up my computer time, I might have time to draw. Not going to happen. I work full time. Thus, I have very little time to do much else. And there is the favorite TV shows I won't give up either. And I like to read."

Me: “In other words you do have the time, you just don't have enough
desire, so you choose to use your time doing other things?”

I am wondering what you think about this paraphrased conversation or about your level of ability. Do you think it is a “Gift”, or do you think it’s something you worked for, like a paycheck, for example?

My belief is that people may be born with the ability to get better, but we have to harness this ability to get where we are. Nobody is born a master, but everyone, should they take the large amount of time need to practice, has the potential of a master. Some just have more potential than others.

That being asid, my answer would be "both."

Maybe the "gift" is having the "time" it takes to "work" at it.

I was born with a natural inclination to draw and be creative and some artistic 'talent' which runs in the female line of my family - maternal grandmother, mother, me, my daughter. However I can most surely tell you I worked many years to develop the skills I have and will conitue to do so and improve. I have noticed my daughter is 'better' than I was at my age concerning technical drawing skills. However she draws more than I did as a child. Drawing is something you must do to master - which I am far from - , like music. There are very few geniuses/savants in the world that can do outstanding things in the realm of art effortlessly.
It amazes me when people think you just whip any drawing out no problem. I've had people think I should draw them stuff for free - 30-40 hour pictures- or next to nothing 'cause , 'it's so easy for you.' Ha! Like I have a magic pencil. A lot of people don't realize drawing is time consuming work, though I must admit very rewarding and fun work.

"It amazes me when people think you just whip any drawing out no problem. I've had people think I should draw them stuff for free - 30-40 hour pictures- or next to nothing 'cause , 'it's so easy for you.' Ha! Like I have a magic pencil. A lot of people don't realize drawing is time consuming work, though I must admit very rewarding and fun work."

I can sure relate to this!

But how can it be both? When, or if, you work for a week, or do a job, does your boss hand you your paycheck and say, "Here is your gift"?

You were born with the raw potential. You worked for your level of skill didn't you? ;-)

I know some people have so much 'raw' talent that they don't have to work as hard as others. But I figure the skill level is a earned reward, and not a gift. The undeveloped potential is the gift. This is just my opinion.

You pretty much just restated what I was thinking when I posted earlier.

I believe some people have the interest in seeing the details or the world more than others and translating that to paper. It isn't a 'gift', just simply a way of seeing detail colour and form. And it has to be practiced and used constantly to be able to build up any level of skill.

My ability to draw or paint hasn't come overnight. Yes, I have always enjoyed drawing or painting since childhood, but my current abilities and knowledge come from 30 years of practice, art classes, networking with other artists, teaching and just plain old hard work!

Often a curse comes with the gift. Like if I broke my leg and couldn't work but I would be able to stay home and have more time to draw and paint! Lol.

Just don't break your drawing wrist.

Being stuck for weeks at home with doctor's orders not to draw sucks.

The only thing I can say .. is its a hard question to answer .. I mean there are those who work hard at what they do and put out some very impressive work ..I think they have a talent to be able to see something and put it down on paper ..could be concidered a gift but whats a gift..a gift is something you are given .
also in my case .. my uncle is a awsome artist ( self taught or gift ) he has been drawing from the time he could pick up a crayon .. same with my dad and my brother .. both draw very well ... then myself I draw ... so maybe in some cases its a gift and others its a talent they have learned to perfect ...I think you can learn to draw but maybe if you have the "gift" it will come easier to you .
oh well just my opinon

People may say that an artist is "gifted" or "talented", but I think the only "gift" we all have in common is the passion.
We need passion to practice and practice and again practice. And THAT's the gift - that we do have this passion.

I used to get so angry when people told me I had a talent. It just made me mad because I spent so much time working and to just be told that I didn't even have to work at it (my interpretation at the time) was just unbearable.

I spent so much time alone as a kid (never did have friends and I was a nerd so I got made fun of) and I had to do something. I was terrible at art, but after years of working at it I got better. It wasn't something like math or reading that I could just do.

But of course, everyone thought art just happened, and I worked at everything else. Now I very much consider art a gift, even if I did have to work at it, and still do. While the ability to do math and read was more of a gift because I didn't have to work at it, art is something special to me.

I hate it when people say, "oh I wish I was as talented as you! I can't draw at all!"

I ask them, "have you ever tried?"

They say, "well, no, because I'm rubbish at it."

GRRRRR

I used to be terrible at art. I might have a natural inclination towards it (uncle is artistic, mother is, sister is), but I wasn't born with the ability to draw and paint and sculpt. I've spent countless hours in the past 3 or so years, which is how long I've been any good, trying to improve myself. I've never taken any classes and never had anyone show me how - I was just determined and worked at it until I got it right. And I hate it when people ask me for shortcuts or assume they can never do it, because they could if they could be bothered.

So....
Is it a gift to spend every waking moment every available second of your time thinking about and doing Art?

Sometimes i think it can be more of a curse than a gift, I work hard at it and practice every day in some form, some would say i am slightly obsessive.
I think the real gift in Art is being able to life balance between Art and the living of your life. I mean, a lot of us have kids and we all know how demanding they can be, right? Try being a great artist with them around!!

Yet some people do, that is their gift, some of the greats were mad, i mean real mad, loon's in fact, but boy could they paint!

As has already been said, most have the time, but chose to use it in other ways, I am not selfish enough to be a great artist, so i am happy to carry on as i am. But i can only admire those who are, and i certainly wouldn't say it was a gift.

RJS

I love etymology. I am such a nerd. When I think of 'talent' I think of it as this...

talent

1292, "inclination, disposition, will, desire," from O.Fr. talent, from M.L. talenta, pl. of talentum "inclination, leaning, will, desire" (1098), in classical L. "balance, weight, sum of money," from Gk. talanton "balance, weight, sum," from PIE *tel-, *tol- "to bear, carry" (see extol). Originally an ancient unit of weight or money (varying greatly and attested in O.E. as talente), the M.L. and common Romanic sense developed from fig. use of the word in the sense of "money." Meaning "special natural ability, aptitude," developed c.1430, from the parable of the talents in Matt. xxv:14-30.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
American Psychological Association (APA):
talent. (n.d.). Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved March 04, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/talent

Going back to middle latin and old french the word meant a will, desire, inclination, leaning towards something. Today 'talent' usually is defined as a natural ability, which is only partly true. I think the gift is the desire and will deep down in our self to make it happen. You can attribute this will to anything, including God, the Muses, Nature, whatever. But I believe it's there in many and those who have the will are blessed when they harness it. Everyone has a natural aptitude for something and they are usually happiest when they follow that. Remeber those aptitude tests from school that were supposed to tell you what you should do for a living? Or those natural skills tests? We took both.

People use the words talented and gifted in different ways..it means something different to one then the other ...for some art comes very natural...some have to work hard at it .. some can do math with ease and some work very hard at it ...I have people say I wish I could draw like you ...well I do know people who can not draw ...no matter what .. I have ran across people who can not even draw a straight line so I believe some just do not have it in them so they turn to something they are good at that comes with ease .. maybe its crafting harley's like they do on the chopper show .. thats a form of art to me I really know for sure i cant do

I feel like everybody has reached the same basic conclusion but I am confused what it is.

I believe the conclusion is that some people enjoy the process of drawing more than others therefore work harder at it, thus get better as time goes by.

There's no magical 'gift' or 'talent'

Makes sense to me. I have seen that in the students of the art classes I have taken.

Exactly. But it's not just joy, but above all passion. A passion for drawing is something that is hard to describe. In my case it means not just passion and huge interest in drawing, but any other art form.

If you put a crayon into a childs hand they will create a "masterpiece" for you...they have creativity and imagination in abundance...as a child grows they are told...stop daydreaming...do this...don't do that...and slowly but surely they stop drawing and creating and imagining and grow up! Then you have people like us who somehow...through encouragement and the desire to continue creating thrive and develope their skills. Some sooner than later....

Some here may know my short story....I stopped drawing for about 20 years after I left school. Thanks to my daughter I started again and thanks to the internet and my ability to access the knowledge shared so freely in many internet art communities and alot of practice and frustraition and perserverience...I finally feel I'm getting somewhere...it's taken me 3 yrs of constant studying and applying what I have learned to achieve a better level than what I was, but there is still so much more to learn. So in a nutshell....no creating art is not a gift...it is a learned skill...and it's hard to learn...the gift is the ability to MAKE time to acquire the necessary knowledge and skill.

It has become an obsession of sorts for me...If I can't make time to draw then I am searching and studying to find the answers that will help me on my journey in art.

You get what you give...
Laura

I never considered myself gifted in any way. I was always one of those persons who said they couldn't draw a stick figure. Left to my own devices I probably would have gone on thinking that way. But fortunately, after a good deal of pushing, I discovered that with careful observation and plenty of patience and practice I too could achieve something that had some artistic merit.

Probably art is like genius, in Thomas Edison's words - one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration.... good job I have air-conditioning!

Wow. A lot of people are masochists

Is that really relevant? Doesn't masochism have to do with pain inflicted on yourself?

Ok, I guess it's just me. I enjoy drawing but the creative process is a very intense sometimes painful thing for me, trying to get it all perfect on paper. So while it's enjoyable, it can also be painful, and masochism is about enjoying pain and...

It was just what I thought about when I read it. I'm sorry. My brain jumps between thoughts and I just assume everyone can follow, or feels the same way on some level. But I usually just end up feeling stupid and awkward. Oh well. That's my life in a nutshell

I got it, Hun!!! HEHEHEHEHE....love your work!!!! Yes, being creative and putting it down on paper can be quite painful at times...but when your driven to do something and it just keeps nagging you to get it done...you just have to go with the flow. Thank goodness for ibuprofen and coffee!!!!

Laura

LOL Laura, I actually have to take medication to help me concentrate. Without being on it my mind jumps and I never stay focused with one thing I want to try everything at once. All I can say is at least it helps tremendously.

Masochism....seemed relevant to me.
Paulette

Oh, good, I am understood, at least a little Now I don't feel as stupid... just a bit

And it's nice to know I'm not the only one who buys Advil and Coffee in bulk! You're right, Laura, those things are life savers.

I admit I have a certain amount of "gift" or talent that allows me to see things in my mind, or from memory. However, I had to work to develop the skill of putting these memories on paper or canvas.

Some cultures in the world consider art as a natural and necessary part of life. They believe that everyone born has the ability, that it's just part of human nature.

Example

I believe the GIFT to be the desire and the creativity involved in designing original works. However, the mechanical skill to reproduce what you see is a REWARD for hard work. The more desire or "gift" that you have, the less work it takes to achieve the "reward", or at least it feels less like work.

Yea, like when people see me working on something and are like wow! that's really good, they never seem to realize I didn't just whip it off and often worked on it for hours before. Like it took me 3 minutes or something not 3 hours. I do agree that we all just share a passion to draw and improve our drawing.

It might be just me but I think that, once you placed an idea of any kind on a piece of paper, you're pretty much set to go. The question is whether you choose to draw or if you ignore that impulse. In the end, it's a matter of will not of capability. However, you do need that creative impulse. Art does frighten the blind. There are no shortcuts and no rules. You need to open you eyes

/-\13*

I still think there are people out there who just cant draw .. I dont believe it is something everyone can do and be good at it ...I guess I dont believe that this statement is true for everyone " If you put your mind to it you can do it . "
I am not a negitive person I feel I am realistic .

I think there are probably many people who could do it if they really tried, but haven't. But I agree that there are some people who simply couldn't because they lack certain cognitive abilities, just as some people are "tone-deaf" and really can't tell that they're singing off-key.

That said, the original question about "reward vs. gift" is a very interesting one. I'm tempted to say "gift" in the sense of a present, because I feel lucky to be able to do it. But it's a reward, too, because it takes plenty of work.

Perhaps the best answer is that it's a reward, but a disproportionately large one: I get back even more than I put into it