The Myth About Talent

When I tell people I’m an art teacher I’m often met with a response like, “Oh cool, …but I’m so bad at art. I can’t even draw a stick figure!” Maybe this even sounds like you. But I have a gripe about this because, firstly, everyone can draw a stick figure, and secondly, it’s a well-versed excuse as to why they won’t even try to draw.

When I hear my students say ‘I’m bad at drawing’, I ask them how much they practice. Do they draw every day? Or at least a few times a week? You see, people think drawing (and many other art forms for that matter) is a talent but it’s not so much a talent as a skill.

Don’t get me wrong here, it’s clear that we are all born with different natural aptitudes. Some are naturally better at drawing while some can skilfully manoeuvre a soccer ball (not me). We are not all born equal, and that’s a good thing! The point I wish to make is that most people wrongly assume that art is something you are either naturally good at or you’re just plain hopeless at – like there’s some art gene they didn’t get or something. They assume that they will never be any good at art because they haven’t been in the past and everyone else seems to be naturally better than them so there’s no point trying. This is called a fixed mindset.

In recent years, our school have worked with our students on Growth Mindset, a term coined by Carol Dweck. She says a ‘Growth mindset is the understanding that abilities and intelligence can be developed’. Recent neuroscience shows us that the brain is far more malleable than previously thought, and the brain’s plasticity allows it to change throughout life. Our intelligence, abilities and aptitudes can all be developed and nothing is fixed.

What is interesting to me is what people will have a growth mindset about while having a fixed mindset about other things. You don’t hear ‘She’s a talented reader’ so much as ‘He’s a talented musician’. People see reading as a skill that takes years to develop, as is mathematics. People tend to have a growth mindset about these skills while showing a very fixed mindset about the arts. Music, dance and art are seen more as talents than skills. This annoys me because it diminishes the greatness of these ‘talented’ artists. Yes, they most likely are very talented and possibly exhibited this talent as a young child, but please don’t dismiss the hours and hours of practice that went into that skill. The years of dedication is what has built and refined their talent. A natural born talent that is not put to work will not go far.

I do not see myself as having a natural talent for drawing. I didn’t come out of the womb this way (although a few people in my family may have joked I did!). I just really enjoyed it from the outset, and I was curious enough about making marks on paper that I devoted a lot of my childhood to it. That's why I’m good at it – because I put in the time! (and it’s also why I haven’t really got much better in the last decade, because I wasn’t putting in the hours). Drawing is something I have to practice regularly to keep developing my skills.

The thing is, most people aren’t willing to put in the time that it takes to draw well (or any other art form for that matter). If you are interested in taking it up a new creative pursuit then please, be prepared to be a bad artist first. Don’t get discouraged at the ugly phase. Adopt a growth mindset. That way, ‘I can’t draw well’ becomes ‘I can’t draw well yet’.

I’ll leave you with a short video on Fixed vs Growth mindset (see below). It’s worth thinking about what you might have a fixed or growth mindset about!

Until next time,

Erin