Hey-Oh everyone! How is your week? Excited about the weekend? I am! Endless time to draw and write, ah, I love the weekend!
So, I don’t usually do art posts, because honestly, I’m still learning, but lately I’ve felt that God was calling me to do more art posts for beginner artists. So, I asked you guys if you would like to see more art post and was honestly really encouraged by the responses!
So, here is my first post in possibly a series of posts, My Art Journey, Your Art Journey! Where you’ll find encouragement, where to start your art journey, the best supplies, tips, tricks, and more! So let’s jump in, shall we? 😉 (Disclaimer: Sorry if what’s below is difficult to understand, I am still learning as well, hence My Art Journey, Your Art Journey. Also, I’m still waking up and realized I needed to write this post…lol…)
“Where do I start? I just can’t draw, I’ve tried, but it just doesn’t work. I’m not good enough. I’ll never be as good as him.”
Ever feel like that? I sure do, all the time. Gasp if you want, but it’s true. I have those thoughts all the time. Recently Kayti purchased The Little Pilgrims Progress, illustrated by my favorite illustrator ever, and I was looking through the pictures and was like, ‘Wow! I just his art!’ but then I kinda got a little sad, like, ‘but I’ll never be like him…’
Don’t tell me you never feel like that, we all do. But it’s all about perspective, if you say you will never be good, you probably won’t, and I’m just being honest. For a while I thought I was terrible, a horrible artist, you know the normal…Family, ‘Wow! That looks so good! You are so talented!’ you/me, ‘No it’s not, it has so many mistakes, you’re just saying that because you have to.’
Classic! But then I met Amber, my Bestie, and she is an artist, wayyy more talented than me, and she encourages me sooo much! She compliments my art and even gives me pointers when needed. Since meeting Amber I have improved because I have a new mindset. I am good, maybe I don’t draw like Joe Sutphin but my art is its own thing and it’s a different kind of good. If you are any kind of artist, drawer, writer, or musician, you know how this works, it just takes someone outside your family to boost your spirits.
So, I was feeling a little down, looking through the masterpieces in Little Pilgrims Progress, well Kayti, excited about her new book (because who doesn’t fan girl/fan boy about new books? 😉 ) showed it to mom. Mom looked through the pictures and said, ‘Hey, this kind of looks like Jaiden’s art.’ Needless to say, my spirits really boosted, even if she was just being nice, it really helped my confidence, therefore (I love this word btw….lol…) helping me improve my art, not because I was changing how I did my art but by changing my perspective!
Instead of saying ‘I’m horrible, I’ll never be good!’ I’ve been doing this instead, ‘my art isn’t like Bob Ross’s, but it’s my art, and my art is good! God made me an artist and He doesn’t make mistakes!’ Like He didn’t make me and be like ‘Oops, I made her an artist, that was a mistake! Geeze, she’ll never be good, I meant to give that to someone else, oh well.’ Like no! He made me an artist on purpose and if you have a passion for art it isn’t a mistake either! When you feel down about your art, repeat after me: God doesn’t make mistakes! My passion is not a mistake!
If you’re an artist/wanna be an artist but feel like you’re not good enough, it’s time to…
- Sit down and pray! Pray for God to lead you in your journey, and pray for guidance from the One True Artist Who made you and everything around you!
- Grab some paper, a pencil, and an eraser, and draw!
- Ask for HONEST feedback, this one might hurt a little but you will be glad in the end.
- Find an artist you really like or an art style you really want to draw and practice, practice, practice!
- Most importantly, don’t compare yourself! Those amazing artists have probably been drawing for years, so don’t feel bad if your art doesn’t look like theirs and you’ve been drawing for 3 months, it takes time! “All things worth anything, take time.” (Said some wise person once, like I said still waking up here…lol…)
Don’t believe any of this really works? Don’t believe your time, practice, and maybe even tears, will make you get any better? That’s what I thought, but I kept to it and due to tons of encouragement from family, my Bestie, and you guys, I have improved so much! This is a cat drawing I did 3 years ago vs one from just a few weeks ago!
Pretty big difference, huh? Well, you can have those results too! Just never give up on your dreams:
“Fear kills more dreams then failure ever will”
(Note: I don’t know who said this quote, I found it on Pinterest a few weeks ago tagged anonymously)
Don’t let bad comments or self-doubt stop you:
“If you let one bad comment stop you, then maybe they’re right maybe you aren’t good enough.”
Sing 2
Keep practicing, keep improving, keep saying ‘My art is good! No one draws like me!’:
“You can’t draw like anyone else and no one can draw like you.”
Paul Priestly
And most importantly never stop praying!:
“With God all things are possible!”
The Bible
And one quote that really helped me, and true story I found it on a five-dollar sketchbook (yes, in case you’re wondering, I bought it 😉 )
“Bad art is better than no art, so go make something!”
Sorry, this was long and if it didn’t make sense, I do hope you got the meaning of this post. It is a post God has been laying on my heart for a while now and I only now had the courage to write it. I hope this post encourages you as much as you guys have encouraged me.
Now I promised some Emotional Commotion teaser art, didn’t I? Okay, so Rissy has given me the honor of illustrating her short story collection Emotional Commotion, so without further ado (because this post is soooo long already..haha… ) here is a teaser pic! Note: This is only half of the illustration for Forgiveness (didn’t think I was gonna show you the whole thing, did you? 😉 )
There it is!
Conclusion:
If you’ve read this far, congratulations! *Hands you chocolate* Anyway, are you excited about Emotional Commotion? (I sure am!!!) Did you enjoy this post? Would you like to see more posts like this? How would you feel about a Tips, Tricks, And Encouragement blog series for beginner artists? Let me know in the comments!
Also, if you would like to see more of my art, more Emotional Commotion updates, and more encouraging words, you can sign up for our Monthly Newsletter here!
Thanks so much for reading!
Jaidie/The Dragon Nerd
Sisters Three 
Leave a comment