Born with Talent or Made Through Practice?
Have you ever seen an artist who makes everything look easy and seems like they were born with talent? I often think this when I meet an artist who creates amazing art naturally.
A Night of Musical Magic
On one of the weekends this month, Sebastian and I went to a piano concert. Four pianists played, but one really stood out. She announced us right from the beginning that she didn't plan anything ahead. She was going to make it all up, she explained. She played for thirty minutes, amazing us all.
It felt like she was making music from nothing, and it seemed to be so easy to her. For half an hour, she played divinely without stopping. It was like some magic connecting her to the piano.
As I was listening, I was wondering how she can make up such amazing music on the spot, under the conditions of being heard by hundreds of ears. And then it hit me: she wasn’t creating her compositions on the spot—it was all her practice and hard work coming together. Her skills and experience over years were turning into something beautiful, original, and new.
Transforming Practice into Art
This made me think about my own art. In my studio, I paint and practice a lot. Each time I do, I learn something new and put it into my next pieces. The more I work on my art, the more ideas I get, ready to use in my next creations.
I remember when I first tried abstract art. At that time, I didn’t have much experience, and after some failed attempts, I thought it might not be for me. But after practicing for months, I came back to abstract art and for the first time, I really enjoyed it. It felt natural and easy, and people liked my work enough to buy it right after I finished it.
Practice is the key. The more we practice, the better we get. It becomes easier, and we start believing more in our ability to create new things out of nothing. We start believing that even when we announce we will make something up on the spot, we have enough knowledge to recycle to keep our promises.
We use what we know over and over, just in another form. In another way.
That Saturday night, when the last note faded, I knew what to do next: practice more. Not just 3-4 hours a day, but 6-8 when possible. Every hour we spend in the studio, we are building our own magic, just like the pianist who showed me that practice and experience can lead to divine creations.