In my art courses, new students often tell me nervously that they cannot draw or paint and have no artistic ability. Or even that they used to love art, but were told at school that they had no talent. I am quick to tell them that WE ARE ALL BORN ARTISTS! And I do not believe that you need particular talent to be an artist. You learned to drive/cook/play a sport or musical instrument/read, etc, so you can learn to draw/paint/create too! It is simply wanting to acquire the skills, practicing those skills and experimenting with different techniques and materials.
The great Pablo Picasso once said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
Do you remember when you were a child at school and felt that unfettered freedom to create with a few broken crayons or chalk? Or of your first coloring book and how much fun it was to fill in the shapes, even if you often ended up coloring outside of the lines? You were an artist then with no limits to your child’s imagination. Then maybe a parent or teacher told you that you had to color inside the lines or that apples were not blue and trees were not square. Maybe your creativity felt repressed and art no longer felt fun.
Believe me, that child’s imagination and joy did not disappear; it just got hidden over time. You can reawaken that child’s joy and unrestrained imagination in your adult mind. It is there, inside of you, just waiting to be freed!
Reignite your creativity by trying activities like doodling or even fingerpainting. You don’t even need to have a subject in mind, just play and enjoy the creative process and feeling. You can watch art videos on Youtube for ideas that inspire you to create. Take an idea you see and run with it! Try collaging from old papers, magazines or cards. Buy a hunk of inexpensive air dry clay and just enjoy the feel of shaping the clay in your hands. Be fearless and as unfettered as a child. Play and have fun!
Above all, HAVE FUN! You might just surprise yourself! Be the artist that you were born to be!
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