The Difference Between Talent and Skill

It has taken awhile, but I have eventually come to the realization that we often confuse talent with skill. The awe-inspiring, completely jaw-dropping works of art that catch our eye are the products of a highly talented artist, right? Almost, but not quite. They are the products of a highly skilled artist. Skill, not talent is what many people find themselves admiring. It isn't talent at all and here's why:


Talent implies that an individual is born with some immpressive artistic ability. While true to some degree, it is not the single thing responsible for fantastic drawing or painting skills. Wait a minute!.......drawing and painting skills. Skill implies that something has to be learned. I believe that much of anything in art has to be learned if you really want to be any good.


Learning to use your pencil to draw shapes and shadows and shade with realistic effect is more of a skill than a talent. You can learn to do these things. Anyone can do it....I did, the biggest skeptic of my own artistic ability that you would've ever met. Once I understood certain skills, I found myself drawing realistically in a way I never would have dreamed of before, simply because I was thinking about things the wrong way. I thought that you either had talent or you didn't, and the people who did became artists. How wrong I was, just like millions of other people are right now.


If you go into the mindset that something is in fact a skill, then you will have hope....hope of learning how to attain it. If something is a talent, then you have no hope of attaining it if you are not naturally talented. See the difference?


Talent vs. Skill..........think carefully about which one you are really referring to......and go out and obtain those skills....you just might become the artist you never thought, but always wished you could be!