type and artist - artists please comment

[Ilah]

ISFPs are sometimes labled the artists. Does that mean that most artists are ISFPs? Is it unusual to be another type and be and artist. I think INs tend more to writing than visual art.

I concider my self an artist (amateur, self taught) and I am INTJ. I belong to another web group where I talk to other (mostly amatuer) artists and I often feel that I am quite a bit different than most people on the site. As an NT, I am used to feeling different than most people, but I though I would get more of a kindred spirits connection with other artists that I have.

I have always though of myself as very creative, and I believe much of that comes from my N. My N is a big influence in my art, but I when I attempt to discuss this most artists don't identify with it and I am not sure if they really understand what I am saying.

At first I though I don't have much at all with ISFP - completely different letters except for the I, but looking at the development chart, I see some parallels. ISFP is listed as Fi, Se, Ni, Te and INTJ is Ni, Te, Fi, Se. I looked at when traits develop. For ISFP, the Se is developed at age 12-20, the age where many artists start drawing, painting, etc. I think Fi plays a role, but you need the Se to go with it. For INTJ, the Se is developed at age 35-50. I started my art late in life, after I was 35.

Ilah

[Orangey]

I'm supposedly INTP and I enjoy art very much. I used to be into photography, and I currently enjoy doing representational drawing. I find that, while I am good at drawing from a model or a still, I have problems when it comes to creating a concept from scratch. I do 'academic' drawing. I can't just look at things and get a flourish of ideas to put down onto a canvas. I find that I analyze them too much, and when I finally produce a concept, it's so over-thought that it appears trite and contrived. Like a typical sci-fi sort of scene or a fantasy scene from a book. Doing rapid gesture drawings has broken this habit a bit as it forces me to react purely to the sensory data as opposed to the abstraction that's involved in full drawing (drawing from primitives, simple shapes). Anyway I think I'm getting off topic .

I've seen some people work that can just really paint or draw what they are feeling. Their work has a quality that is 'above' mere quality of craftsmanship. I don't know what their types were, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were some sort of SF combination.

[arborvitae]

I'm an ISFP, but I seemed to have been shorted these "artistic gifts" that are always associated with my type I find playing around with crafts and paints to be a lot of fun and relaxing, but I wouldn't consider myself especially talented at art. Not all artists are ISFPs, and not all ISFPs are artists. The types that are attracted to producing art are probably as diverse as the mediums and styles of art that exist.

[Samuel De Mazarin]

I'm an artist-wannabe... or acolyte at best... I couldn't call myself an "artist" since I've not become a professional... I'm an ENTP... I played classical violin to the point at which I was entering competitions (I'd say I was four or five years away from being able to audition for a good orchestra, but not philharmonic... you have to be insanely good to get into one of those...)... also played in rock bands (piano and singing).... but my main love is writing and I'm trying to develop it into a profession.

My biggest problem, as an NP, is not seeing things through. I've had good reviews of my work, but novels always get aborted at the fiftieth page, as it were....

I agree strongly with arborvitae ("the types that are attracted to producing art are probably as diverse as the mediums and styles of art that exist").

I have friends of all types who are wonderful artists, and true artists... actually, I have an ISTJ friend who just rocks it on the guitar AND drawing AND he creates action figures to specification (right down to modeling a face) to sell on Ebay... so what of types and art? And don't a lot of artists capitalize on their ability to see not only deep within themselves but also outside themselves? They utilize their secondary and tertiary functions, their shadows, much more than ordinary folk, I would assume.

[CaptainChick]

I dance, (used to choreograph), write poetry, paint and draw.

[Uberfuhrer]

An ISFP is an artist not in a literal sense, but it's more like they are theoretically more in tune with natural aesthetics.

When describing the SP temperament, Keirsey defined art as the act of being spontaneous and adapting to life rather than trying to change it, so it's not what most people think of when they think of art.

I think that with the more common sense definition of art, as in painting, sculpting, poetry, and so forth, it is not about which type is best at art, but rather, it's about how each temperament approaches their artwork if they are artistically inclined.

The SP artist would likely be spontaneous and improvise, perhaps come up with embellishments while in the process of doing -- tertiary or inferior Ni coming to the aid of dominant or secondary Se to embellish doing.

The SJ would probably be more conservative in approach, working within what has been done before.

The NF is probably the type of artist who shares a personal vision geared to expressing a social statement or personal feelings of some sort. Exploration of the human condition and all that stuff.

The NT is probably most inclined to be the visionary artist -- that is an artist expresses conceptions of esoteric worlds and designs. They approach tasks strategically, and so start with a vision and use the outside world to realize that vision.

[CaptainChick]

Originally Posted by Uberfuhrer

The NF is probably the type of artist who shares a personal vision geared to expressing a social statement or personal feelings of some sort. Exploration of the human condition and all that stuff.

When writing my poetry, yes, I would say that this assumption is true, however, in both my paintings and drawings, this couldn't be further from the truth.

Below, are three of my drawings which pretty much exemplify my general artistic aesthetic style.

[Uberfuhrer]

Having said what I said above, however, I also used to draw, but I just don't do it anymore, for some reason. I just don't think I'm talented enough to get anywhere with it.

But basically, I approached my art very strategically and I planned it out.

[Little Linguist]

I used to participate in Irish dancing because I thought it was beautiful. However, I never used to practice more than twenty minutes once a week because the repetition drove me nuts sometimes. Then, BOOM, I would be able to do it well from one day to the next, as if I had taken a pill that made it possible. I cannot explain it.

Recently, I have taken to drawing because it makes me relax. I'm no good, but oh well.

I love music, but I do not have enough discipline to play. I usually just fool around on the piano just for the hell of it.

However, I would not call myself an "artist" per se. I do not know if that "counts."

[murkrow]

I'm a writer and I approach it in a very NT and even ENTJ way.

I've been writing poetry since I was 9 but I think that my personality is really a stopper on how developed my poetry will get.

I have a hard time getting at the feeling side of poetry and focus more on trying to find flawless metaphors and things.

When I'm writing fiction I plan the entire thing before hand. I have been working on the same story for about two years now and I don't have any text written, just tonnes of notes. I think that my ENTJ really lends itself well to developing stories that can make a philosophical statement without being opinionated. I am very good with character development and interactions, which I think is an expression of my executive/mobilizing capabilities.

Really what I bring to my art is vision, reason and direction. What I don't have is the capability to make things "flow".