I've always been a very creative person but I would have never quanitified myself as artistic. My early views on the idea of "art" is probably much like yours. That art is something that requires extreme talent and is not obscure in anyway. If the idea was to portray a person, then the painting would be obvious. It would be like looking at an image so realistic that it would feel like you could reach out and touch something tangible and unmistakenly human. You and I were neither right nor wrong, our view was just very mainstream and limited. I've since learned that I am very artistic and that art comes in many shapes and forms.