Knowledge Through Mentorship

For any living organism, ape or human, it would be impossible to just pick up a brush and start drawing amazing art. Practice and experiences are needed to make great art, even if there is an art prodigy, they wouldn’t be their best until they practiced and witnessed things they wished they hadn’t before. The reason being, art is based on emotion and passion, it is not something people do to try to be the best, art is something people do to show others their story through more than just simple words. A person needs knowledge, past experience, and empathy to become a great artist. As an artist the individual will need to gain knowledge through mentors which will help assist the individual in becoming a better artist. Critics argue may that a mentor may not be needed to become a great artist, they believe a person can just pick up a pencil and draw amazing art. In the text Smith states, “I am a firm believer in crossing generations to find mentorship and inspiration and a sense of furthering the craft.”(pg.129). This evidence demonstrates that mentors can help, they may be older, but they also have more experience to help teach and help understand what it takes to truly become a great artist.
Others may claim that true artists can create art spontaneously with little special knowledge or understanding, but this is clearly not the case. As Smith supports, “I believe that fundamental to becoming an artist is understanding the position of an artist, rehearsing that position, and practicing that position.”(pg.123) This source makes it clear that becoming an exemplary artist is a delicate process in which the individual must go through experiences, and practice over and over again not allowing yourself to give