The 6 "it's okay" of being an artist.

1. It doesn’t have to be perfect

   -When I first started my minor in studio painting, it took me forever to finish a painting. This wasn't because I lacked a subject or because I wasn't educated well in the art. It took me forever to finish because I felt every line had to be perfectly smooth. I would loose sleep at night if there was one paint brush stroke not perfectly smooth. Now don’t get me wrong, if this is your way of painting go for it, but for me it was more a thought of “it has to be perfect or no one will like it.” And what I say to five year younger me is, if they don’t like it, it won’t matter if every line is smooth or not.

2. It’s okay if no one other than you likes it

  -You know those pieces that you look at and think this is my peak, I will never do better than this? Then you take your painting into the critique studio, or to the gallery and you get slammed for every little thing about it. You’re told all the ways you can fix it or make it better. But you look at it and think, I still love it the way it is. Well, let me tell you something, don’t change it. There are going to be times when you’re down and out about something you’re making and this will be the piece you look back to. Everyone doesn’t have to like it.

3. It’s okay if everyone but you like it

  -On the flip side of my last point, there are going to be pieces you highly dislike but everyone else loves (this is about 95% of the things I make). As a matter of fact, one of my paintings that I absolutely hated is now hanging above my bed because everyone else loved it so much. And to be honest, the longer I look at it, the more I like it. So don’t give up on that piece because one day you might change your mind.

4. It’s okay to have painters block

  -More times than not, I have painters block. By this, I mean, I either don’t know what exactly I want to work on, or I get started on a project and can’t figure out where to go next. And, that’s okay. It’s okay to take a pause and ‘live with the piece’ for a while. Let your mind think over it. Mona Lisa wasn’t created in a day, and your painting doesn’t have to be either. And honestly most of the time your art is better when you don’t try to force through the painters block.

5. It’s okay to start over

 -I’ve began a piece before, got to the day before critique and spent a whole night redoing the entire piece. And that’s okay. You don’t have to stick with your original plan. If that were the case we wouldn’t have paint thinner and gesso to cover up our messes.

6. It’s okay to feel like an amateur

  -It’s hard not to go on pinterest, see what other artists are doing and automatically think you’re way out of your league. Well stop it! You’re meant to make your art, not someone elses’. And it’s okay to look at other people’s art and see certain things they have done that you might want to try, but don’t ever let anyone else’s work make you look down on your own.