I share something in common with Van Gogh and Steve Jobs!

"Sunflower a la van Gogh"    5" x 7"    Pastel    $50.00     © Sharon Lewis
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I know it sounds incredibly presumptuous to claim that I share something in common with van Gogh and Steve Jobs but it’s true. Marion Boddy-Evans, in her newsletter today on painting reminded me of this (See: http://painting.about.com/). We share common beliefs about talent and success.

First, van Gogh apparently argued and I agree, that artists are not given the gift of talent but are those who choose to work hard at their art form. Van Gogh and Jobs believed (as do I) that first you have to have a strong passion and really love what you’re doing. This passion will help you endure the hard work necessary to achieve success and sustain you through the tough and disappointing times. 

So maybe artistic talent is what a person appears to have because others may only notice when that individual finally achieves some measure of success. That success however is the end result of passion, hard work, and perseverance.

I’ve noticed that not everyone is fortunate enough to discover what they’re passionate about or to be able to act on this realization. So maybe what we artists are really gifted with is not talent, but being fortunate enough to discover what we truly love and to be able to express this. 

What do you think?