Your favourite toy/hobby/sport etc. as a child
It's always been drawing and painting. My sister and I used to draw on old printer paper at home, and I remember drawing image after image of this cross-sectioned house, with swinging lightbulbs and stickmen families going about their routines.
I think artistic skill is absolutely learned, and just takes practice. I went through all the drawing stages that kids go through; felt tip outlines and coloured pencil filling; shading and forgetting about the white spaces. I was one of the two best drawers in my primary school class, but with hindsight I'm not really sure why. I used the same techniques as everybody else... I guess I just spent more time perfecting them.
The first time I really started to understand visual art was art class in my first year of intermediate. My teacher got us to paint a sheep skull, with a tonal scale down the side of the page to work from. I think I'd been sort of fluking it a little before then- drawing things in certain ways, but without really understanding why. Suddenly I got it- form, tone, contrast. My finished piece was still probably pretty ugly (haha), but it changed everything about how I drew and painted, and got me excited about that subject.
Unfortunately the school I was at was pretty terrible in every other way, so I ended up switching after a few weeks- maybe I'd be much better today if I'd had that teacher for two years. I really think that the teacher makes all the difference to every subject, including art. I didn't have anyone particularly inspiring until my last two years of high school, and coincidentally he was the husband of that intermediate teacher. Until then I read a lot of drawing books, and practiced at home (art classes were no help; there were too many restraints and instructions and completely boring subject matter).
I don't claim to be a great artist at all, but it frustrates me when people say they wish they could draw like me, because often when I do see an example of their own drawing, it’s pretty damn good! I think as adults, if we’re not professional artists we claim that we can barely draw stick figures, when really we would just need to have some interest and put some effort in to produce (visually) great work.
I have no conclusion to this post, sorry. Other than to say, no, I can't play the harmonica. Although I do still have that one. I just think I look totally indie, man.
