To aspiring artists, random thoughts on art
I remember this post that said "People like to think art is magical", and this is mostly true. But this is not true for artists themselves. Because the thing is, art is not magical. Art is made by people that spent their time studying, dedicating their minds to their creations. Art is not made of randomness, of natural capacities that some artists freely got by doing nothing. If you want to be an artist, a drawer, a musician, whatever, you have to work hard on it. At some point, you can't say to yourself "I don't know how to draw X thing even though younger people can, so I'm just not made for this." You can't. Because thing is, if someone younger than you has a "better technique", it's not because they are worth more than you. It just means they got into practising their abilities younger, harder. And nothing is wrong with you developing your artistic world later, or slower. This is your own creations, your own rhythm. But don't give up. If you think most artists are just naturally good at what they're doing and that you wish you were them, I suggest you looking at some researches made on children that were told they're natural "genius". Most of them might be strongly affected by those words, negatively. Because they can struggle with their development, thinking that their abilities is a result of randomness and NOT a result of hard work and devotion. And I know a lot about that, being that kind of child. Yes, there is probably a little kid on earth, that might just make you feel like shit because they're creating crazy things. But this should be seen as an early interest that was USED and EXPLOITED. Not some magical baby that will forever be better than you because they were born with god hands. So, don't think you're not good enough, that you're not someone that can be an "artist". Everyone can create beautiful artworks, if they WANT to. The only global advice I can give you, would be to work hard. Study figures, learn to observe the world, use references, learn to have a correct gesture, USE your brain and DEVELOP your capacities. Because you got them. Art is beautiful, but art is technique. And as an extend, everything is. You have some special, you have a potential at something. You just need to develop it, if you want your life to go that way. It might be hard, takes time. But that's how it is. We all got potential, and it shouldn't be wasted because we think it's not as good as others'. kbye