So I am talking about a taboo in the art world that makes alot of people uncomfortable- but it's my blog I can say what I want to- so nah! Talent/Genius and that very special "VISION"- that outweighs any talent or genius I have seen. Over the years of drawing at various schools I have met some pretty talented people. One student while studying in Italy. He could draw a line so clean and pure it would make your eyes fall out. His sense of shape, spacial connections and form were so direct and organized he could show up to class with a glass of wine, smoking a cigar and still create something most people spend years trying to do. Having saying that I watched him get rejected and picked on by the staff constantly. He was never welcomed to any of their "private parties" he was never offered a teaching job and eventually left the school (I didn't blame him). Many of the instructors that I have had over the years all have different abilities (which is why I went to so many). In watching what that student went through and my own experiences....I developed a way to protect what I can do/what I know. It is a choice. And the only reason I can really draw anything at all is that I do it ALL THE TIME!!!! But most art teachers you first meet don't see that. My gift is that I can turn it on and off---I can draw like crap and have an instructor come round and teach me basic principles (about line and how to sharpen a pencil) and then turn it on (and combine all those principles plus more that I have worked so hard at getting). So Why? You ask why would I protect myself? Socially to reach that "VISION' we (as artists) rely on social interactions to enhance our thoughts about art....sometimes one's talent gets in the way of speaking to other artists--. And the "VISION" is more important than any talent or gift!!!!