My biggest front gear wheel is painted black and there are, what look like, signs of wear on it as the paint has chipped off one of the 'teeth'.

My question is - is this just normal wear and tear, is it because I'm still quite new at this game and do on occasions crunch my gear by trying to changing up instead of down when going uphill, or is it a problem I should take to my LBS????

The bike's just short of two month's old.