My observations over a few long years:
- “Always drawing in her spare time”–yep, you have an artist at heart.
- “Rather draw what SHE wants to draw”–Great! An artist with an inborn vision or trying to establish one. What happens now is that she needs to realize that a good teacher won’t CHANGE her vision to mimic their own but enhance and enlarge on the possibilities for her art by giving her new techniques and ways of looking at things. There is a lot to learn. Her art will always be her own–but with more depth if she opens herself up. All great artists learn from one another. If the teacher isn’t the best–reject their teaching but you still learn from it. ALL the great masters had studios of students–and art history shows that they still retained their own styles.
- “Be open to criticism”–Nobody gets better without honest criticism of their work. And in art (so close to the heart) it can hurt at first. Super tough at an art school. How badly do you want to get better?
- “Creating art for art’s sake”–there are quite a number of art fields that aren’t defined in that fashion. I don’t think computer animation, graphic arts, industrial design, architecture fit that definition (although some may disagree). A science, math-oriented person with an artistic bent is the perfect candidate. Art conservation is the farthest thing from my mind as an acceptable substitute. There is definitely a creativity and art meets the science/math mind in quite a few fields.
- “Refuses to enter competitions”–that’s a mindset that encompasses “art for art’s sake” etc. My D’s art was entered in competition by her AP art teacher. She would never have done it of her own volition. Entering competitions sometimes takes parents, teachers taking the lead. Art in most student’s minds is not a competition. But art needs to be seen and vetted to be appreciated.