How to become an artist by D.C.Monteny
Open full image in new tab Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.
No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
It was 1987. One of my first days at the academy. We would get our first drawing lessons. The teacher welcomed us, and said we all had the potential to become great artists. And he would show us how. "Now" he said, with a big smile on his face,"take your drawing papers, take your ink pen, think 'a tube' and what would fit in a tube. Now draw all those things you can think of, make sure that each object has at least one overlap on the other, and fill your drawingpaper with them. Be sure to get a nice composition. When you're finished with your first page, start another, and we'll do that for two hours. Then we'll have a 20 min break, and then we're going to draw some more for another hour. And next week we'll do cubes, and then spheres, and then...."
Well, this was the first page I did back then, it's no Picasso, no Warhol, it's no Da Vinci ;-))
But it teached me a valuable lesson. You can't just dream of becoming an "artist". You can only work, work, work work..... And finaly people might say to you, boy you are SO talented. And then you'll give them a shy smile.... If only they knew....LOL
Have a GREAT friday
Dirk
Oh, and i posted a new blog last night, you can read it here
http://www.renderosity.com/mod/blog/comment.php?postid=874

Comments (21)
Interesting. Chaotic yet you can still easily pick out all the shapes and identify them easily. Nice work Dirk. -Rob P.S. - I would consider not being called a Warhol a compliment. (get's ready for the flames)
But maybe it WOULD be a compliment to be called an Urchin :))
very true words dirk... cool variations and over all placement to fill the paper aestetical!see ya;-)
:-)
So did you work up the page from the bottom or down the page from the top?
Well i started with an object somewhere on the paper and then drew more and more objects sometimes not covering another, filling the gaps in later. But PLEASE, don't ask me to remember which object came first, it was 1987...LOL Anyway I worked that way, figuring that i would have more of a chance to get a nice composition, rather than going just upwards or downwards.
Sheesh, you've always been able to draw! I never could draw, at least not very well. I think computer graphics were the first thing I could ever start from scratch and make the way I wanted. This is very cool! Thanks for the peek! (:
It's a really nice composition and idea.
your teacher was so very very right !!!
Have read your story and i have a complete another idea about that Real talent is a gift, you can not buy it and i am happy for that!!! Where to easy as you have tons of money that you are also atomatic a great artist,happy enough does not work it on that manner Some people can not read or understand any music note but play from out the heart the most beautiful songs and yes that,s really riches Some people have graphic lessons for years and years but you see never a orginal own piece of workcomposition Amen !!:-)) Nice piece of work Dirk :-)
I can agree with a lot of what you're saying. But the point is that you have to keep at it, daily, to get a CHANCE of becoming an artist. Yes, you can't buy it, and yes some are more talented than others, but if you only make one drawing a week, or sing one song a week, you won't get there, wont you??? Hard work is your only chance, talented or not, rich or not, educated or not....
Wow! No matter if the teacher told you to interlap your objects or if it was your idea, the result is a masterpiece! On the other hand, I agree with you, maybe the artist does not feel it, but working everyday teaches the artist not only skills, but more important, how to express what he/she has exploding inside! Thanks for sharing this Dirk!
This is a great lesson for so many, and full of the trueth. I feel one is never a great artist for they are always learning, and we can only be as good as we want to be with alot of work and comments from others...no matter if it is a harsh one, we still learn from it. Thank you so much for sharing this with us :) Dee
I coincide with the opinions of Arend and of Dirk, there is a proverb that he/she says that artist one is born, but if we thought in that way all artistic creation it had already ceased in the world, the hard works he also makes to the artist, the daily one to make us goes giving the practice and better if we can dominate the technique, the art in general has a beginning but he doesn't have end, there is always something new that we are surprised it, I believe that as much the traditional art as the digital one have to have that thing so particular that he doesn't stop to surprise us. Excellent and creative realization Dirk......!!!!
Interesting composition!
A wonderful picture , Dirk and I agree with your words about how to become a true artist ! As a harpsichord player there is certainly much hard work , learning , and practice to develop one's ability . However , I do believe that some people have a natural genetic gift that enables them to play the difficult music of say Bach and Scarlatti to perfection ::::: and I think the same applies to other art forms .............. Michael
Thanks for this lesson. I seem to have a lot to learn about being an artist. I don't practice enough.
I have had so many instructors over the years say what yours did. I found that a combination of practice and inborn talent is what made it work. If you don't have the eye for the balance and that little extra intuition though, you are lost as a "great artist". You can be good and not great. You can have flashes of insight with one piece and be a "one hit wonder". But... true greatness is producing interesting, beautiful work consistently that is different and beautiful every single time. Hehe... and I thought this would be a short comment. ;o) Bunny
a fun, great job..memories. lol thanx
This is cool, Dirk. I can see, now, how this might have prepared you for the recursiveness of fractals!
I well remember a similar exercise to this whilst at college ... but with overlapping chairs. Thanks for the memory. Mike