Canvas Dreams: Tracing the development of three contemporary Australian women painters.

The research used narrative enquiry to explore how three successful professional Australian female artists perceived the development of their talent, asking how they reflected upon influences that facilitated and inhibited achievement in their talent domain. The objective was to understand creative talent development over a lifetime, using qualitative methodology guided by the hermeneutic interpretative tradition. Results showed that although participants’ journeys were idiosyncratic, all artists viewed their talent development as a confluence of intrapersonal, environmental and chance catalysts. This finding confirms previous research and adds support to Gagné’s (2008) Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent 2.0. Results also indicate that strong connection to creative self-identity was a central influence for all women. Participants saw the development of their artistic gift as self-actualisation, an expression of a creative identity which evolved and changed in response to intrapersonal, environmental and chance influences. A strong connection to creative self-identity supported positive intrapersonal characteristics such as drive, resilience, optimism, focus and perseverance. Creative self-identity emerged in childhood, and was nurtured by encouraging familial environments and appropriate educational provisions. It grew with opportunities to engage in the domain and was validated by external success in the field as well by supportive relationships. Inner conflict over identity role, the loss of opportunity to express the gift owing to multiple demands on time or unsupportive economic and educational environments, inhibited the positive trajectory of participants’ creative talent development journeys. Results indicate the need for further research on the identification, development and nurturing of creative self-identity in gifted women and girls.