![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
On Making "Bad Art"
Apr. 23rd, 2021 09:42 amSometimes (by which I mean often) I get frustrated because my art isn't as polished as the art of people much younger than I am, and because I don't have the sort of large network of friends from school who will help boost my art posts so that they get positive feedback on social media.
But then I think about all the extremely talented students I've worked with who stop doing anything creative almost as soon as they get out of college. A lot of these kids have been art school students with majors like Narrative Illustration and Game Design, but then they accepted a job in a different field and stayed active on social media but just completely stopped posting creative work.
So I have to keep reminding myself that, while having even a tiny spoonful of talent would be nice, the most important thing is to keep making the time to draw and paint, because "bad art" is better than "no art." It's also important to do work I enjoy. If my art posts aren't going to get positive feedback on social media anyway, I might as well enjoy making them instead of worrying about whether the work is perfect.
And I don't mean to get complacent. I always like to go to art shows and art festivals when I travel. There are amazing artists living in some out-of-the-way places, so I don't want to make generalizations, but outside of urban areas I see a lot of the same flowers, beaches, and Picasso-style bust portraits.* It's really important to me to continue experimenting and pushing myself to keep honing my style and expanding my range.
* Okay, but the best thing - and I mean the best thing - is when I go to a local arts festival in some little town in rural Maine or North Carolina and see someone's highly polished oil painting of furries on exhibit. I respect these artists immensely, I'm not even joking.
But then I think about all the extremely talented students I've worked with who stop doing anything creative almost as soon as they get out of college. A lot of these kids have been art school students with majors like Narrative Illustration and Game Design, but then they accepted a job in a different field and stayed active on social media but just completely stopped posting creative work.
So I have to keep reminding myself that, while having even a tiny spoonful of talent would be nice, the most important thing is to keep making the time to draw and paint, because "bad art" is better than "no art." It's also important to do work I enjoy. If my art posts aren't going to get positive feedback on social media anyway, I might as well enjoy making them instead of worrying about whether the work is perfect.
And I don't mean to get complacent. I always like to go to art shows and art festivals when I travel. There are amazing artists living in some out-of-the-way places, so I don't want to make generalizations, but outside of urban areas I see a lot of the same flowers, beaches, and Picasso-style bust portraits.* It's really important to me to continue experimenting and pushing myself to keep honing my style and expanding my range.
* Okay, but the best thing - and I mean the best thing - is when I go to a local arts festival in some little town in rural Maine or North Carolina and see someone's highly polished oil painting of furries on exhibit. I respect these artists immensely, I'm not even joking.
