Great artists (be it musicians, painters, dancers, writers or creatives of any type) sometimes don’t have any special skills, but one: taste. They have developed a discerning eye for what makes a great product or outcome.
A great artist might say “I am not sure if this is the way, I have to see it first“. In art, there isn’t a predetermined formula for success. You can’t hope to draw lines in a specific arrangement and get the same outcome every time.
As such, great artists internalize the essence of great and bad art and summon that when making judgements.
Taste is developed through practice, hard work, and reflection. A great artist studies 10,000 paintings, reflects on what makes them great, and draws another 1,000. Neither of these – study, reflecting or drawing – in isolation wouldn’t be sufficient to develop great taste, but in combination, the whole becomes more than the sum of its parts.
Great taste can help not only your creative professional aspirations, but your personal life as well: picking the right outfit, choosing your friends, or finding a partner.
