5 Things I Wish I Knew as a BEGINNER ARTIST

Hey , friends , I've recently been thinking a lot about my journey to becoming an artist while cleaning up the studio .

I came across some old drawings and paintings that have reminded me how difficult it sometimes was .

And that got me thinking because it didn't have to be that way .

If only I had known some things , things that would have made my life less frustrating and a whole lot easier .

So I thought today I'd share some things I wish I had known when I started my journey with you .

And while we're doing that , you can watch me paint a small portrait onto a handmade Jessel panel .

So sit back , grab yourself a warm beverage or something to draw or paint along .

And here are five things I wish I had known as a beginner artist .

Number one , inspiration is overrated .

Being inspired , feels amazing .

You're bursting with ideas and energy , things are flowing , you're focused paintings seem to paint themselves , fingers seem to move on their own painting , drawing , writing whatever creative work you're engaged with doing it .

Inspired , just feels amazing .

But the thing is inspiration comes and goes with no rhyme or reason .

And if you rely on inspiration to be productive , get better or be creative .

Chances are you won't get anything done any time soon .

Inspiration is great , but it's impossible to do creative work regularly or daily and feel inspired all the time .

It's a fickle thing .

It can be a powerful motivator , help us get started on something , but it rarely helps us finish the job to be truly effective or skilled .

You need to dedicate time to your craft .

A lot of time , consistency and dedication , Trump inspiration almost all the time .

Instead of waiting for creativity to strike , the more you practice and build an arsenal of creative skills and ideas , the more intuitive the process becomes and the less you have to rely on inspiration to strike , you can be creative no matter your mood and you don't have to wait for anything or anyone .

You don't have to be inspired to create something great because as most artists can attest some of the best ideas grow out of the process .

Anyway , the most successful , skillful or prolific artists , regardless of their medium usually aren't the most inspired ones is those who keep on drawing , keep on painting , keep on building and keep on writing .

It's those who are the most consistent and the most dedicated .

Number two , your ego will ruin everything .

It stops you from growing , it makes you irrational selfish , it makes you get offended easily , it alienates everyone around you and so on .

And so on having an unhealthy amount of self importance as an artist will stop you dead on your artistic journey .

Simple as that .

And just to be clear , I'm not talking about confidence and self esteem here .

What I'm talking about is good old artistic ego and believe it or not .

I'm speaking from experience .

I was the equivalent of a teenager who starts working out for the first time and then tries to show that to the entire world by wearing the tightest shirt possible at every occasion , even in the freezing cold of winter , pure crunch .

I thought I was this great artist that had everything figured out already .

And of course , I had nothing figured out .

Nobody could really teach me anything unless they were better than me .

But then I thought basically everyone didn't know what they were talking about , what a fool I was or maybe just a regular teenager .

I don't know .

In any case , looking back at my teenage self , I'm talking 16 , 17 , 18 here .

It's kind of embarrassing and it makes me cringe these days even though it might not be uncommon for young adults to be like that .

But what it did for me back then is completely keep me from reaching my potential from learning and growing as an artist .

And it does that to everyone .

I needed to learn humility first before I could finally grow as an artist .

Whether it's seeking meaning and self worth through your art or the yearning to be special or taking yourself and your works too serious striving to be better than anyone else .

The feeling of superiority .

If you want to grow as an artist , you have to manage your ego .

First , social media , of course , has made this harder than ever .

The allure of likes and clicks and validation is stronger than ever .

And it directly speaks to the inner narcissist that all artists have in them .

But the only thing it does is take you off track and make you focus on the wrong things .

We artists are still human , not separate from everyone and certainly not better or worse than anyone else just because we are producing art .

Don't get me wrong .

Having a healthy ego as an artist being confident and standing behind what you're doing is important .

But staying humble and down to earth equally is maybe even more .

It keeps us curious and critical of ourselves , keeps us grounded , keeps us hungry and open for new things .

And it makes it so much easier to be a happy , healthy and fulfilled human being .

Number three , stop waiting for the right time because the time will never be just right .

It is one of those little lies .

We all constantly tell ourselves to justify why we don't just do the damn thing .

Organizing an exhibition building a website , starting a podcast , writing a book , starting a business , a youtube channel , you name it .

If I waited till I could properly speak and be good at video editing .

Before I started the youtube channel , I would still be waiting this of course , isn't just limited to artists and painters , but something every creative person who has something in them waiting to get out is familiar with .

If you are waiting for perfect conditions for the stars to align in just the right way you are in for a long wait because one thing is for sure , the conditions will never be perfect .

There will always be a lack of money , time resources , help experience and doing anything out of your comfort zone will always be hard and frightening .

But luckily you don't need to have everything figured out and mapped out .

Things don't go as planned .

Usually anyway , it's more than fine to take one step at a time and to figure things out as you go , it's just important that you start somewhere getting started is already the biggest hurdle .

It's like moving an object .

Once you overcome the initial inertia and resistance , even the heaviest object becomes at least a bit easier to move before we get to the last two points .

And by far the most important point , I would like to thank skill show for sponsoring this week .

Skillshare is a great online learning community where people like you and I can get creative and learn new skills , whether it's drawing , writing or making videos , you get to explore thousands of classes with super interesting topics .

And one of the greatest things about it is that you can find some simple introductions to complex topics like good old jazz , mastering illustration , sketching , inking and color essentials course , maybe watching it will jump start some ideas and get you inspired to create something .

It seems to have that kind of effect on people .

And at just $10 a month for an unlimited premium membership skillshare doesn't break the bank .

And since they are sponsoring this video , the 1st 1000 to click the link in the description will get a free trial of skillshare premium .

So I encourage you guys to make you .

Ok .

Number four being an artist is hard but for different reasons than you might think , no sugar coating , no playing down .

It doesn't matter if you do it professionally or as a hobby being an artist is heart , damn heart .

But for different reasons than you might think the good news first , the hard part isn't learning the skills or making a living from it .

Nor is it the hustle or struggle painting a portrait is easy learning to sculpt is easy learning any craft or acquiring any artistic skill is easy .

At least comparatively , the hard thing about being an artist is the emotional attachment you have to your craft and what I like to call the roller coaster .

And here's what I mean by that at the start of a project you think to yourself , this is amazing .

I'm a genius .

This is going to be absolutely amazing .

A couple of hours later you think to yourself , this is the worst thing ever .

Dumbest idea possible .

I'm not only horrible , but I also hate everything .

And the next day you come back with a fresh pair of eyes and you think to yourself , this actually is kind of amazing .

Cool , rinse and repeat .

See what the problem is .

The constant and never ending emotional roller coaster that comes with being a creative person and having that so intimately connected with your well being and your self worth , confidence , et cetera is what makes being an artist so hard .

One moment , you feel like the king of the world and the next , you feel completely miserable .

One moment you think everything will be great and the next that everything is doomed and the only difference can be a bad drawing or a not so nice comment about your art being an artist can be hard .

I'm not gonna lie .

But luckily some easy fixes help make things a lot easier .

For example , realizing that your art isn't who you are .

The art you create is an expression of who you are .

Once you wrap your head around this , it's easy to detach your self worth and well being from your art and have a much healthier relationship with it .

Critiques of your work magically stop being personal attacks , failures and setbacks are no longer the end of the world .

And you realize that you can still have a great day even when you just painted the worst painting in your life .

And although it's hard if you keep your ego in check , not take everything too seriously and develop a healthy mindset being an artist can be and actually is one of the most joyful and rewarding things you can imagine .

And now the most important thing I wish I knew as a beginner artist .

Number five , the greatest one is the jack of all trades .

If I could turn back the time and start over , this is the one thing I would do differently without a doubt .

If only someone told me this when I was young , who knows where I would be right now and what I could have achieved .

Unfortunately , I needed to learn this lesson the hard way and it took me a long time to wrap my head around this .

But once I did , I not only became a better artist but a better person , entrepreneur , basically a better version of myself .

The math is easy .

The more time you spend trying to become better at one thing , the less time you have to become better at another .

For me , it was painting and in particular realism .

That's what I obsessed over when I started my artistic career , realism , realism , realism .

But the thing I didn't realize back then is how much more valuable and useful it is to become good at many things rather than becoming great at just one thing .

Your time is so much better spent learning how to make movies , make dioramas , build websites , make furniture , run a small business than just become great at drawing faces .

And the same is true even within a field when it comes to painting , for example , it is much more valuable to have experience in a variety of different styles and mediums rather than just sitting and painting on your ipad all day .

Creating art is essentially problem solving by thinking creatively or outside of the box .

And the more skills , abilities and experience you have in a variety of fields , the better you will be at doing this .

This is not only limited to young aspiring or beginner artists .

By the way , it's also something I wish more professional artists would realize .

You can even see it here on youtube .

Digital artists only watch and follow digital art channels .

Fine artists only watch traditional painting videos , et cetera .

If only people would realize how much you can profit from expanding your horizon and seeing beyond one's own nose .

Of course , it's never too late to learn a new skill and to become a jack of all trades .

But the earlier you start the better .

If you want to find out why this is so powerful and important , I highly suggest to check out my video on how to actually become a better artist where I go into much more detail on this topic after watching this video , of course , because to also put my money where my mouth is , I want to finish this point by recommending some youtube channels that I feel will get you going in the right direction and hopefully expand your horizon no matter what kind of artist you are or medium you work with .

And even though you might not realize at first how watching Aaron Blaze do his thing and create beautiful two D animation can make you a better portrait painter .

I can guarantee you it will I put links to all these creators in the description down below , so you can check them out once you've finished watching this video .

And before I let you go , if you made it this far into the video , consider subscribing to the channel and giving the video a like and leaving a comment .

And if you want to see more videos like this in the future or get a look behind the scenes or just support the channel because you are an awesome human being , consider becoming a patron of the channel .

Or alternatively , you can head over to my shop and grab yourself a print friends .

This is the last video of 2020 I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all your love and support throughout the year .

I'm really looking forward to the next and the changes that are coming to the channel and I'm super happy and grateful and thankful for you guys .

I think this is my longest video yet .

So I guess it's time we bring this video to an end special thanks to all patrons of the channel for being so amazing and making these videos possible .

And thank you lovely people out there for watching .

Please hit like subscribe if you're not already a subscriber and yeah , have a good one .