Artist: a person who expresses human creativity and imagination in a visual form to be appreciated primarily for its beauty or emotional power.

There are so many types of artist involved in the different constituents of the arts which comprise of literature, performing arts and the visual arts. It’s safe to say we all don’t fit into the same category when it comes to creating and presenting our work but here are a few types of creators I can poke at that outline the different types of artists. 

1.    Careless artist

The careless artists are more of the risk takers and don’t usually take the time to plan their work. These types of artists are not so much caught up in doing their work until the last minute. Their work is usually carelessly done, assuming it is done in a hurry; hence, not so much effort is put into it. Simplicity is key for them as most of their work involves a few splashes here and there but the result is marvelous! These are the kind of people who don’t care much for deadlines. No matter what they do, their work is always good and so they don’t worry too much about details. Five minutes or five days doesn’t make much of a difference for them as they are gifted with the talent and they solely depend on it. Unfortunately most of these artists tend to be lazy because creativity comes easy for them. In terms of delivery, they still complete their work and satisfying the audience or clients’ needs. I would say these kinds of artists need a lot of push in order to take their talent or work more seriously, since despite everything they are able to deliver, which means they most likely don’t get to live to their full potential.

2.    The planner artist

The planner artist is the opposite of the careless artist. The planners are the organized type of artist and love to plan their work ahead of time. They are not so much of the risk takers as they would probably need their work to be more precise. I imagine the planner artist wouldn’t be comfortable using a pen as a tool for drawing as opposed to using a pencil that allows for them to erase, as they are perfectionists and are more specific to details.  The planner artist definitely has the talent, they are aware of the talent but still plan out their work to ensure that everything goes according to plan as it is preempted. A lot of the times their work is neat and tidy as they colour within the lines. I imagine that these are the kind of artists that make better designers and freelancers as they are able to plan out proposals to show their clients the kind of work they will create before they actually create it. At the same time they are able to save their work in stages, so that they can go back and correct their work if required.

3.    The lucky artist

The lucky artists are the type of artists who create by accident. You ask them what they are going to create, they have no idea but when they finally create, it is a success. Now these are the type of artist that are considered lucky as they know they have the talent and they rely on the talent to come through for them when needed. I consider them a bit closer in relation to the careless artist as they have the unplanned quality, seeing that they don’t know beforehand what they will create; they discover it through the process of practice. Their work is based on results and outcome, so they require patients and faith because their work speaks for itself, you wouldn’t believe it wasn’t planned for. These type of artists need to build trustworthy relations with their clients who have seen their work and believe in it. In some cases they also fit in with the planned artist as they require a lot of time in order to create. It takes them a lot of trials to do the work as you will notice their work takes a different direction from the original thought process (if they managed to think it out beforehand). They are also the type of artist that because of luck, one of their pieces will sell for millions because their creations take on a life of its own, as their creation is based off from the creation process. Doesn’t matter how long it takes them but eventually with the luck they’ve got, once `discovered’ their journeys are more entertaining as they make for better stories. All in all I would say the lucky artist’s work is deemed unpredictable so they would fit better into the fine arts.

4.    Clueless artist

The clueless artists are the type of artist that doesn’t even realize they are talented. You give them a compliment and they are as surprised as you are that their work is good. The admiring of their work usually comes as a surprise as they are unaware of their talent and capabilities. The clueless artists are probably the one timer that decides to create and it’s unbelievably good, the type of people who you’ll invite to attend a painting class and they’ll perform even better than you the artists who has been doing it for a while. You end up with a ‘student performing better than the teacher’ situation, though it’s not anything they take seriously. A lot of them go without exploring their talent because they couldn’t be bothered by it. They are the kind of people like say for example you hear singing randomly, you’ll be surprised they can sing, you complement them, they are thankful but that’s all it will ever be since their carrier paths and choices have nothing to do with their talent. In some cases the clueless artist is aware of their talent but it’s as good as irrelevant as they do nothing with it as they wouldn’t even know how to go about it.   

5.    Wannabe artist

The wannabe artists are those who don’t have the talent but they admire artists. They love artists, they study artist until they become artists. The funny thing is they are usually the loudest of all artists. They could list the top artists by name or name all those who are good at what they wish they could do. Majority leave it at that as they attempt to be what they admire but they don’t quite achieve being the artist they sort. If they do they are loud with the efforts of acquiring the talent, so much that they are recognized for it, even if sometimes they are not as good. Really, all we can do is admire their efforts. The good thing with art is ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ and chances are that there is always someone that relates to their work. Take for instance singing, nowadays you don’t have to have a voice to sing. Most wannabes spend a lot of money or time making themselves better until they do become better. You find that they are recognized even more than the real artists with the born talent, because they are the so called made artists. The wannabe artists are those who suck at it and you wouldn’t convince them otherwise, I mean why would you? They are positive and self-driven by their passion and that leads them to their success. Besides, at the end of the day we’re all just artist trying to make a living out of our talents or what we do best. Kudos to all those artists who succeed and are able to make a living out of it. I would say the wannabe artists make better teachers and managers of artists as they master well what makes an artist and are able to pass on the talent or shape up artists to be better.

Please do let me know what type of artist you think you are in the comments…