"I mean, if you could find happiness and total fulfillment work in a steady, well-defined career wouldn't you invest in that instead of the fickle and fearful world of fine art? "

I guess that's why so many people do not pursue art until they are retired. They'd rather wait until they have the financial means to enjoy art.

I've seen media that shows cats painting, elephants and monkeys painting...The reality is that animals don't know what they are doing. Humans can make decisions regarding their art --and what and how we create. In that sense it is innate.

Some people have superior reasoning and math skills that many will never possess or be able to understand. The same is true for artistic skill. Some people have a higher range of abilities and skill that some will never possess. Few of us could ever achieve the level of Sargent or Bouguereau and still be involved in the arts.  The arts are more tolerant of lower skill levels because it falls under the category of self-expression, recreation or therapy. A mathematician that cannot figure out simple percentages would not be highly regarded for his brilliant self-expression with numbers. So to sum it up, some of it's innate while society also has a wide range of acceptable skills depending on the particular form of art and area of pursuit.

i think thier are born talented artist and learned artist.and some with a little of both.we may be born artist but still learn .thats what i like about art.i never quit learning.i can,t remember not drawing or painting.as a child i couldn,t wait for mom to bring the groceries home so i could have the paper bags to draw on.

I definitely think artists are born. Seems like nowadays, one has to be careful what they say about the words 'talent' and 'ability'. At least, from my experience.

Many times I have been told "what do you know, anyone can learn to draw well! There is no such thing as talent." As the person mentions in the first comment, some have a higher skill than others. This can be with math or science, which I believe to be as important as art. All are subjects of knowledge and understanding, and require ability and passion.