What I Wish I Had Learned About Art Series

Accept and Embrace Your Art Where It Is

So that You Can Continue to Grow

Welcome to the second installment of my What I Wish I Had Been Taught About Art series!

The hardest thing about learning a new skill can be the desire to be at the end goal, despite the fact you need to grow to get there.

Yes, the hunger for your end goal can help you strive to get there no matter what.

But it also has the potential to discourage you.

You want to run after Mom, but you have to crawl first. You want to ride a bicycle, but you have to ride a tricycle first.

And it can be so frustrating to want to be able to draw, paint, sculpt gorgeous works of art, and then see your final result that’s far, far, from what you envisioned in your mind.

And not just once, but time and time again. It can make you want to throw away every single piece of art that you make.

But don’t!

Just like you had to crawl and walk before you can run.

Just like you had to ride on that tricycle weeks and even years before you could ride a bicycle.

Just like you fell oh so many times trying to walk and run, trying to ride your bicycle.

You need to accept when you fall a bit on your art.

Progress will be slow and unfortunately, most likely slower than you would like.

But you need to accept your art for where it’s at. You need to hang your art up, even if it’s in the room where others won’t see it. You need to focus on finding the progress, little by little, and accepting it for what it is so that you keep working towards that ultimate goal.

And, ideally, take it a step further.

I know for so many of us, our goal in art is simply to be able to draw/ paint/ sculpt/ create what we want, how we see it in our minds.

If I want to draw a majestic, regal picture of my cat, and it comes out looking derpy as all get out, it’s disheartening, even maddening.

But here’s the thing to remember. There are an infinite number of ways to draw a cat. Has your regal cat, ever, ever looked derpy? Have you ever tried to look majestic, regal, gorgeous, and just ended up looking derpy?

Life isn’t perfect and so despite the fact that you were trying to draw your cat in a regal manner, it’s okay that the art ended up looking derpy. That’s how life goes.

Heck, I think it’s a better statement on life and the human condition than simply creating a regal picture.

And we all know there are so many different styles of art. They don’t all have to look perfectly realistic like that portrait or landscape in the museum. In fact, even museums have different styles of art: abstract, impressionism, pointillism, more than I know for sure.

Maybe you end up becoming famous for drawing derpy animals.

Imagine if Picasso threw out his paintings because they didn’t look like reality!

You won’t know if you can’t accept and embrace your art where it is now.

And here’s the other thing to remember:

Artists often find that they are uncovering the artwork that is already there, despite what they necessarily want to do with it.

“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” — Michelangelo

And remember…

“There are no rules. That is how art is born, how breakthroughs happen. Go against the rules or ignore the rules. That is what invention is about.” — Helen Frankenthaler

“The principles of true art is not to portray, but to evoke.” — Jerzy Kosinski

“Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing.” — Georgia O’Keeffe

“Every artist was first an amateur.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents.” — Bob Ross

So accept and embrace your art where it is to help you grow towards your goal and/or future. Whether that’s derpy-looking cats, paint-by-numbers, taking photographs, sculpting weird shapes, or using found objects in your own way.

Just keep making art! You will grow both in your skills and in finding your unique style and voice.

What do you think? How has your art grown over time? How do you not only accept, but embrace your art where it is to help you grow? Do have other thoughts on the art process? Let us know in the comments!

Thank you for joining me for my second installment of my What I Wish I Had Been Taught About Art Series. Follow me to keep up with this series and my other pieces. If you are not already a Medium member and enjoyed this, consider using my affiliate links to join as a member or subscribe for email updates when I publish. Using these links support my work by having a portion of your fee go directly to me while also providing access to and supporting thousands of other writers on this platform.