PURSUING ART
“Believe that your hard work and dedication will never betray you.”
Most of the artists I know started doing art during childhood, and I guess I am also the same. I did my first artworks and paintings at a young age and used to think that art is the best thing that I can ever enjoy in life. However, things change as you grow up, and in my case, I wasn’t able to continue doing art when I was older. When I reached my teenage years, I stopped drawing and painting. Eventually, I also lost all my confidence to go back to it. It made me think drawing and painting is just a childhood thing.
Years later (in my early college years), it’s a long story, but I fell into a deep depression. It was so bad that I even needed to take a long break from school. While I was trying to recover, I tried a few things to help me cope. One of them was going back to doing art. And then I found myself falling in love with it for the second time.
Since then, it came back to me as a hobby. I started to draw and paint again, and it has always been a rewarding experience for me. And who knows why — one day, I decided to pursue it seriously as a career.
Today, my journey to being an artist is already years long. Yes, I am still not there, my works still need improvement, and my skills are still far from the level that I aim. I also have yet to establish myself as a professional artist. But through the years of experience, I believe I have learned a lot of things. And today, I thought of sharing them here.
10 Things I’ve Learned While Pursuing Art for Years:
1. Patience is necessary.
When I was still starting out in doing art, I tend to be so eager to finish my work in a small amount of time. I want it to be done as soon as possible, and I can’t wait to see the results. Because of that, my artworks always looked haphazard, they were missing a lot of details, and to be honest, I can’t even find them satisfactory.
But as time went by, I gradually learned that you need a lot of patience and dedicate enough time to produce a well-done artwork. If you need to work on it for days (or even weeks!), you have to. You don’t always have to try to finish everything in one sitting.
After learning this and applying it to my work habits, I am amazed as I started to see improvements in my art.
2. Taking a break from time to time can help.
As I have mentioned above, you don’t have to finish your work in one sitting. If you have the chance, take a break even just for a while. Let your eyes and your hands take some rest. Breathe and let your mind clear up for a bit. I believe this can help you to come up with new ideas, new strategies, and new energy in facing your work.
3. Be committed to learning every day.
Doing art requires constant learning. To be able to improve, it is important to learn every day. So I always try to remind myself about this: “Do not let a day pass that you don’t learn something.” Time is precious, like they always say, and you need to make the most out of it. Spend your time to learn something and be committed to doing it every day. Do some art studies, scan through books, or watch tutorials. Just learn even a little every day, and you will learn a LOT in a whole year.
4. Work hard, but work smarter.
Working hard is a good thing, but sometimes it is not enough. For me, this is a little bit hard pill to swallow. I always believed working hard is the best thing to do, because what else is? But I realized you also have to learn how to work and think smart. This includes strategizing and figuring out how you can improve and do work more effectively, rather than just only working hard.
5. Don’t let frustrations get into you.
It is normal to get frustrated from time to time, but don’t let it make you give up. Don’t let frustrations stop or hinder you from progressing towards your goal. Setbacks are not there to tell you to stop. They are only proof that you are trying. So if you ever get frustrated, just let it pass and go back to doing your thing.
6. Don’t compare yourself to others.
While it is easy to admire a lot of artists, it is also easy to fall into an unhealthy situation where you can’t stop comparing yourself to them. In my case, I can get frustrated when I see that my works can’t be as good as other people’s. Then I’d beat myself up for not being good enough.
But like they say, it is already a given fact that no matter where you go, you can always find someone better than you. But that doesn’t also mean you are not good in your own way. Each of us is unique, and we all have our own different strengths. So take time to appreciate your own art too, and avoid comparing it too much to others.
7. Win over your art block.
Artists experience what they call ‘art block’ or ‘creative block,’ and that is normal. It isn’t easy to do art during those times. You’re just stuck, and you don’t know how to start doing your work or what you should do. But through these years, I realized that it is my job to motivate myself and let myself be inspired. I don’t have to wait until motivation strikes me again. I have to do something. I have to win over my art block.
So go and do something that inspires you. Read a book, view other people’s art, watch a film, or listen to some music. I’m not really sure what can, but find anything that will excite you to do art.
8. Do not be contented.
This one, I’ve learned it from my college professor. He said that we should not admire our works too much because we’ll be contented and not strive for progress anymore. He has a point.
If we get too happy with our works, we have a tendency to stop trying to improve further. But with art or any other craft, I believe there is no end to learning. It is a continuous cycle of trying to chase progress and improvement. And the way to go is to never be contented.
9. Practice, practice, and practice.
Now, this might sound like the oldest trick in the book, but this is the key to improve your craft. Never stop practicing. Even just a bit every day will do. And even if you don’t see improvements, just continue to do it. You will always get better in time.
10. Never stop.
Never stop honing your craft. Never stop drawing, painting, or whatever you do. After you finish an artwork, do another one again. Then repeat. Fight against anything that will prevent you from doing so — whether it’s mood swings, art block, or even depression.
Get crazy and fall in love with what you’re doing. And most importantly, believe that your hard work and dedication will never betray you.
So keep going.
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Alright, that’s all and I really hope that this can be helpful to some.
Thank you so much for reading, and good luck!
