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Artists are not that special.
This is a timely string. Today at the social hour after church, a couple of parishioners were being embarrassingly-to-me impressed by my being an "artist." They attributed special gifts, insights, vision that they denied possessing, themselves.
To me, "artist" covers a broad group of occupations. I am trained in the craft of picture-making, specializing in doing people. The artistry of my occupation is in trying to do a good job, to make good portraits. My innovation or insight consists in handling the tools of my craft - line, value, hue, chroma - to enhance or dramatize what I find interesting about the sitter.
My sensitivity derives from spending a great deal of time observing heads, expressions, features, settings. All these things have been what has interested me since as early as I can remember. I've been a people watcher all my life.
But I won't stand on any pedestal. I'm impressed by physicists, statisticians, dentists, auto mechanics, CPA's, attorneys, carpenters and more, who, like me, have focused a great deal of attention, observation, speculation, love and interest on the specifics of their respective crafts and vocations. Nobody has attributed to them a preternatural gift or sensitivity. Yet the good ones do a great job, are greatly absorbed by their work.
Maybe it's because pictures can be appreciated by nearly everybody that artists are considered special. But I consider anyone who loves what s/he does, who tries to do an excellent job, to top what s/he's done before to be special, and they ought to take their bow, too.
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