Creating an Artist.

I was just sat reading through my blog and as I read through the article I wrote about Artistic Imagination a realisation dawned on me.

We all have that one teacher from school that we remember, they were either the one that encouraged and nurtured your talent or they were the one who ridiculed you, who you really didn't like that much.

Myself and one of my best friends both went to the same high school, a few years apart, however we both have one teacher we remember in common, Mrs Sowerby the art teacher, now both myself and my friend are very creative and artistic people these days but the one thing Mrs Sowerby said to us both was that we would never be artists, I'm unsure if those were the exact words she used (it's a long time ago) but that was the general meaning of what she said to us, she ridiculed the work we had created, in my case a painting.

I think back now and yes perhaps the painting I had done wasn't conventional, the paint applied too heavy and thick, the wrong colours used ( I am colour blind) but surely isn't the point of art to create and use your own imagination?.

The realisation I came to today was that perhaps Mrs Sowerby did see our potential yet instead of praising it as you would in someone you know is good and you know has the motivation to pursue it, perhaps she saw that we weren't ready at that time and by ridiculing us what she actually did was give us an implanted thought process which never left, the thought that we can do it and we will prove her wrong.

In the years that have passed I have created many pieces of art in many formats, I have sold a good quantity of my work and it is admired by a fair amount of people, I am not a famous artist, nor do I make a substantial living from it, I still strive to create that one piece that will get me noticed by the right people, however I am an Artist in every sense of the word as is my friend.

I maybe wrong and the teacher did honestly think we were rubbish, but with me the mere memory of her saying I would never be an artist is what drives me forward to create along with the fact it is who I am no matter how I try to avoid or refuse it I need to create and that is how every true artist feels.