[Michael Fournier]

I am sure tracing is a useful exercise for some. We all learn things in our own way. And no one way should be forced on anyone. In the end if you can draw I suppose the road you took to get there does not matter.

But I still feel that some people are just born with a talent for things and art is no exception. Playing the piano was mentioned and Mark said

I have had those that have strong ability or training even in the reading of music, who, however, couldn't play at all.

I will take that one step further how about those with no formal training at all that can hear a song once then sit down and play it. Or have composed their own music but have no formal training? We say they are gifted.

I do not consider myself to be a prodigy or the next Michelangelo by any means. But I truly feel that without at least some gifted talent for art no amount of exercises, training or instruction will make you a great artist.

Just as anyone might learn to play piano, anyone can learn to draw or paint at a basic level. But just as not everyone can become a great composer, not everyone can become a great artist.

I myself often question if I will ever become the artist I hope to be, and maybe I never will. I do know that compared to some, drawing did come easy to me. But compared to those who I consider to be great artists, I still fall short. Is it because of a lack of talent I fall short? Or maybe it is because I did not trace enough

Yes, the more we draw and paint the better we get and a lot of greatness comes from hard work. So talent alone is not enough. But I feel that innate talent is key to being able to grasp the skills it takes to even start down that road of hard work towards greatness. And maybe that is the gift - not an ability but some intangible quality that drives one towards perfection to get past that hard work, to when it becomes second nature. I don't know. But I just do not feel that there is a short cut to learning anything.

Now I am not the best artist I know of, but I have been asked how I got as good as I am. And to tell the truth although I have practiced, I have to say I really can't attribute my ability to draw to any thing except, to steal from Nike "I just do it". I see it and I draw it I see it and I paint it. And those better then me do the same. They are just better at it then I. I am not ready to throw in the paint rag yet, because I feel that there is room in the field of art for artists of all levels, but maybe it is time that we face the truth. Artists like Nelson Shanks (you may replace this with any artist you consider great here) were just born with a gift we do not have. We could work the rest of our lives and never be as good. Tracing or no tracing.