Member-only story
What To Do When Art Isn’t Fun Any More
...and what to do about it
“I can’t see progress in my art.”
“I’m not improving as fast as I thought I would.”
“Perhaps art is not for me any longer.”
These are the thoughts that may plague your mind when you are trying to master the craft. Soon you will come to realise that mastery of art is hardly what it’s cracked up to be. Despite your best efforts and the level you are at, you might find yourself stuck and unsure of how to proceed. No one but you knows that struggle.
“Perhaps this is it. I hit rock bottom,” you find yourself saying. In fact, this might not be the case at all. Progressing in your art skills at any stage does not fit the preconceived ideas of what art creation should look and feel like, and some social media videos seem to further exacerbate these common delusions. Artists online rarely boast about “The Boring and The Ugly” of their art process, carefully nick-picking only those parts of the process that look attractive, polished, and effortless. Comparing your results to those of other artists is therefore discouraging, as your skills and timeframe do not fit what you see in other people’s works. The joy of creation quickly leaks from your mind like air from a deflating balloon.
