Connect The Dots
An Art blog by Rabia Ali.
Note to reader: These are the thoughts penned by one of our registered Artists.
Art is 20% talent and 80% inspiration.
"Hi, can you draw my portrait?"
Back in 2nd grade when my class fellow had suddenly bombarded me with this request I had learnt to master my best poker face. She stared at me eagerly with wide eyes and it took me a full minute to realize that I hadn't given any response. It wasn't that I lacked confidence in my skill; it was just that I found her request rather strange.
"It doesn't work like that..." I mumbled in a low, stiff voice and she frowned in confusion at my response. Which was understandable as my communication skills were always a little (read: drastically) rusty.
Growing up, I was not accustomed to the idea of 'candid' drawing (for the lack of a better term.) To me that felt unnatural and even limiting. I sought art to taste freedom and relish the raw, real and unapologetic expression of myself.
An academic approach towards art may certainly help develop existing artistic skills, but it is incapable of creating those skills from nothing.Perhaps that is the beauty of art; it is subjective and welcoming. There are no mistakes and every dot carries a teeny tiny part of the artist's essence; their soul. Art is personal... it represents a story, a philosophy, a journey, an identity.
Needless to say, rejecting the request of a portrait sketch all those years ago may have lost me a potential friend but it gave me a deeper understanding of how inspiration is the driving force behind artistic endeavors.
