Leaning On Talent, A BIG FAT MISTAKE

How far can the talents we are born with take us?  I guess that depends on how badly we want to go.  Lately it seems that I don't really want to go anywhere much, at least it looks that way if you were to judge by what I have accomplished in the studio.  Balancing real life as it is right now, today, against what I'd like it to be is a tricky juggle.  So how do I get where I want to be?  

If you look closely at the brush shapes in the foreground, you can see how hard I fought this painting, or maybe how hard it fought me.  

Well, after I posted a photograph of my latest painting on social media, I got quite a few, "You're so talented" comments.  If you've been reading this blog much, you KNOW that the idea people have that someone is able to make art just because of talent bothers me.  However, this time in addition to sarcastic answer that instantly, as usual, came to my mind, the comments took me aback somewhat because they made me a bit uncomfortable as well. Don't you hate when that happens?

Good reminder here...

The past three years I've worked 2 jobs with steep learning curves, jobs that demanded the majority of my attention and focus. (Because, evidently, I am an idiot) Each time I figured I'd get them under my belt then pick my art back up where I left off.  Here's the part that made me squirm a bit; I assumed that my abilities would still be here when I got back!  I presumed that what I had learned was still learned and an inherent part of my skill set.  You know, like a talent that is part of me just like brown eyes or hair.  Isn't that what this understanding of talent is?  That art is just something that I can do without effort?

I used to practice regularly.  Now I go to work instead.  Clearly it's time for some adjustments.

My moral superiority of "hard work trumps talent" was gone like a popped balloon.  Rats.  I've been doing it, too.  To answer the above question -how to get where I want to be- I guess if I'm totally honest with myself (harder to do than you'd think) I have to admit that to get where I want to be I have to keep moving forward.  Neglecting my skill sets and assuming I can just pick up where I left off is moving backwards, not to mention arrogant.  There is no holding still. And, here's the clincher- could this explain the difficulty of the last painting and my reaction to finishing it? That thing kicked my butt. Sigh...  

Thanks for stopping by- Alice