No. You are not Van Gogh.

I have always taken issue with the saying ‘everyone can learn to draw’.  It would be silly to argue that not everyone can learn to draw since it is a fairly easy procedure but I disagree in the sense that I do not believe everyone can learn to draw well.

Growing up I spent a lot of time dreaming about being an interior designer but on realising I was not a strong artist and my Dad would not buy me art lessons I gave up on this dream and it is probably a good thing. My Dad would have been wasting his money.

In my final year of High School I decided to take int2 art rather than higher Music.  Looking back now I kind of wish I had took higher music instead but I enjoyed my time in art.  I saw the course as a bit of a challenge and this is why I am so opinionated on the fact I do not believe everyone can draw well.

I tried really hard and put in a lot of time with it but at the end of the day I still struggled greatly and needed a lot of help from my teacher – who was a great help and without her guidance and faith in me I would probably not have passed.

After all that work and stress I came away with an int2 B because I more or less cheated when it came to the drawing part.  When it came to colour work I was alright – I could manage that and build my technique but when it came to drawing I do not think I progressed very much at all.

I do not believe that time and money alone makes a brilliant artist.  I think it a skill you are born with.  One of my friends has this skill and his work is truly amazing.  He still needed to work at it and hone his techniques but he has raw talent to build upon and I know one day he will be successful in his field of fine art.

To go into an art career without this raw talent in my opinion would be madness.  Well career in the sense of making enough money to live off it.  As a hobby I think it is an excellent idea as it can be a great way of expressing emotion in a healthy way.  Just do not make the same mistake that Susan in Desperate Housewives made.  Do not ever put anything on paper that you do not want others to see.  I would give this advice to writers too.  Once something is down on paper there is a good chance you will be confronted on it.

I think when it comes to careers you should stick to what you know.  Unless you enjoy taking risks and in a sense art is nothing without passion.  Art is also all about interpretation– so it all comes down to personal opinion on the said work of art but I still stand by my personal believe that not everyone can learn to draw to a high standard.  Maybe I am just a pessimistic but again that could be called to interpretation.

A drawing I did of my old flatmate...