|
|
|
|
BACK ISSUES | APRIL 2010 | CURRENT ISSUE
|
||
SPECIAL
Personality Attributes
for a career in
Shivani Manchanda
...............................................................In a letter to his brother the famous artist Vincent Van Gogh once wrote: "I know for sure that I have an instinct for colour, and that it will come to me more and more, that painting is in the very marrow of my bones." I think this statement in many ways personifies the personality of an artist. It brings out the passion with which painters relate to colour. It also highlights that painters are sometimes born with an instinct for art but eventually through compulsive dedication they perfect that instinct.
The personality attributes that are probably vital for a painter are the powers of observation. All famous painters have been obsessed with light and shadow. They have attempted to capture one or the other on canvas to either make a product of high aesthetic value or project a social comment on society at large. So even though the work of a painter is for public consumption, most painters themselves tend to be introverted, analytical and very often unconventional.
Having an experimental temperament or the desire to do things differently is vital for a painter. When I talk to admission officers and ask what exactly they look for in a potential student, the answer I very often get is that they are looking for a "creative spark".
Very often colleges feel they can teach technique but "the person intrinsically needs to be creative or willing to look at things differently" is the standard reply. However a good art teacher, early on, can definitely bring out and mould the creative in you.
So if you are a student reading this piece and wondering if you have what it takes to be an artist then today colour may not yet be in your marrow but it eventually might be. Today you probably already have the instinct for colour. As a potential artist you will need to have the ability to observe nature, people, society, texture, colour and have the ability to mix these into a creative mesh such that something unconventional emerges.
If as a young student, you can observe clouds for hours, look for interesting colours or textures in pebbles or leaves, then you probably already have the initial instinct to be a painter. Now if you can interestingly transform the pebbles into leaves or vice versa and you have an unconventional viewpoint then definitely call for those art college prospectuses so that eventually you can dedicate your life to the study of light.
Shivani Manchanda has a Masters in Career Counselling from University of San Francisco and a Masters in Developmental Psychology from MS University Baroda. An international education specialist, she has dedicated the last 19 years to nurturing global minds for further education. |
E-mail your comments to editorial@theteenagermag.com
with the subject line ‘Careers’
