Many art schools today rarely hire teacher’s without at least a masters’ degree in fine arts. However, many of our great and renowned artists did not have degrees in art. Henri Matisse and Wassily Kandinsky, for example, had their formal education in the law. Kandinsky was thirty years old when he turned down a post of professor of law at the University of Tartu in Estornia and decided to turn his attention to art.

What distinguishes art from almost every other occupation is that the credentials of the artist are not important to the creation of art. Artist are people that define themselves as such. If a person believes themselves to be an artist, then they are artist, and the value of their work is in the balance decided by viewers. The greatest strength of art is that it follows no laws or doctrines. As a matter of fact, most art movements in the past century have defied “rules” and “traditions”.

Remember, those that believe in their artwork have the right to call themselves artist every bit as much as the most admired artists whose works are featured in galleries and museums across the world. It is faith in oneself and the creative spirit that keeps art alive.