MY DEVELOPMENT
“By the time I was 26, I had taught myself how to paint photorealistically“
My mother, somewhat disappointed, told me that my first drawings were a bit behind. While my peers were already drawing people, I only made “bird nests” (circles) and “snakes” (lines). But I had a lot of fun and continued to drawing animals. I copied nearly all of the animals in Rien Poortvliets’ art book and I spent many hours outside drawing frogs and cows from real life. At school, I received the highest marks in drawing class. But sometimes I would also draw during math class and my teacher would get angry.
CONCLUSION
Given that there are creatives on both sides of my family, I believe my artistic talent to be innate. However, I have also drawn for decades, and had I not done that, I might still be drawing as a talented nine-year-old. It makes me happy that I continued to draw over the years and made it my profession. Perhaps the pleasure of drawing is more important than the talent. After all, enjoyment ensures that you continue to develop.