Once upon a time, a little girl went looking for an art teacher.
She found a man who was famous for his art. His work was displayed in many public places.
"Please, sir, I wish to paint a beautiful ballerina," she said.
"Nothing easier," said the famous artist. "With a few lessons, you will be able to paint a ballerina like this:
"Oh, but that is not what I had in mind at all!" the little girl said. "It is beautiful and talented, no doubt, but I do not think you can teach me to paint my ballerina."
So she left him and searched for another.
In the basement of a remote dwelling, she found another artist. He was poor and reclusive. Few people even knew that he existed and even fewer knew that he was a painter.
"Please, sir," said the little girl, "I want to paint a beautiful ballerina."
"I cannot teach you," the man said. "I am a nobody. You want to study under someone who has been successful at their craft. If you follow me, you will starve as I have."
With those words, he turned back to his work. The little girl took a step closer and gasped when she saw his painting. It was almost exactly the ballerina she had envisioned.
She found a man who was famous for his art. His work was displayed in many public places.
"Please, sir, I wish to paint a beautiful ballerina," she said.
"Nothing easier," said the famous artist. "With a few lessons, you will be able to paint a ballerina like this:
"Oh, but that is not what I had in mind at all!" the little girl said. "It is beautiful and talented, no doubt, but I do not think you can teach me to paint my ballerina."
So she left him and searched for another.
In the basement of a remote dwelling, she found another artist. He was poor and reclusive. Few people even knew that he existed and even fewer knew that he was a painter.
"Please, sir," said the little girl, "I want to paint a beautiful ballerina."
"I cannot teach you," the man said. "I am a nobody. You want to study under someone who has been successful at their craft. If you follow me, you will starve as I have."
With those words, he turned back to his work. The little girl took a step closer and gasped when she saw his painting. It was almost exactly the ballerina she had envisioned.
Which man would be the better teacher for the little girl?
[Note: This story is no reflection on the artists of the above pictures (which I took from pinterest). I merely looked for two very talented but very different representations of a similar subject. I know Degas is the actual painter behind the second picture (although my story is not about him). I do not know who painted the pink ballerina (the first picture).]
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