“You said that anyone can learn to draw, and we don’t believe you, so we’ve come to prove you wrong!”
Thus spake a couple at the start of one of my “Beginners’ Drawing” classes. No pressure then! One day I’ll learn not to ask why people have come to a class. Actually, I stand by what I said: everyone can learn to draw.
One of the biggest limiting beliefs about creativity is that all creative people are born with some innate talent and that unless you have this ‘gift’ it is futile to try. I believe the reality is that drawing is a learnable skill, the same as anything else. Certainly some people have more natural talent than others, but doesn’t that apply to every discipline?
I can’t play the piano, but that’s only because I’ve never had a lesson and I don’t practise; I’m not incapable of learning. I’ve met many people who want to draw, but have yet to meet anyone who is having drawing lessons and practises but is not making progress.
I’ll be running some drawing classes (suitable for all abilties) later this year. If you’d like to join in – or feel like testing my theory! – please contact me via my website http://www.jackiegarner.co.uk/contact.htm.
What about the couple I mentioned at the start of this post? At the end of the day they agreed that they were capable of learning to draw, providing they were willing to make the effort. Result!
