When You Want to Burn Your Art

So, I've been thinking about art a lot lately, and how sometimes I really just want to burn it and throw its ashes into the wind.  I sometimes literally hate my work that much, and when I keep failing it gets harder for me to continue onwards, pressing through the mind-numbing art block to the sunny rays of gorgeous artwork that everyone else seems to possess. It feels something like this, 

    Don't know if you're out there fellow artists who do this, but I cannot tell you how important it is... NOT to do this. Yes, I know, you feel like your art is disgusting, worthy of death by fire or grinder, or being eaten by Jumba the scientist. I cannot tell you how many times I've been there and beyond that point. I have literally gone for months without drawing anything because I can't get into the groove of drawing or can't work out my own style that mirrors all of the other styles I love. I just give up and wait a while for inspiration to hit me.

    This is not an entirely bad thing mind you, but you should definitely not go for months without drawing, because then you'll lose progress.

    You might be wondering how all of this pertains to not burning your artwork by now, so I'll tell you. Progress. It's as simple as that.

    When you start to draw, you're not going to know every little thing about proportions, shading, or even the tools for drawing! I certainly didn't either! (I literally threw away some of the most important items in my drawing sets because I had no idea what to do with them.) But that's kinda the point. You might feel totally lost, envious of other people's drawings, or their styles, but the truth of the matter is that you can achieve that same level. Yes, you can, stop shaking your head.

    I have seen the insane transformation of young budding artists, into well-known, off the charts amazing people who can sketch something so realistic it'll make you jump. And you know their secret? It's very simple so I won't repeat it more than two to three times. Practice. 

    When you continue to practice something that you love, you soon see how you improve, and you can continue to learn from your mistakes. But here's the catch. You have to keep your old art! If you just throw away your horrible art, what would you have to look back at to compare with your new art?! You wouldn't be able to look back at your old art and cringe, then look at your new art, and actually feel amazing about what you've done! You'd be stuck in the same rut as always, not being able to improve because you can't see what you need to fix. That's why it's very important to keep your art, no matter how badly your hands itch to throw it away, and know that you'll improve. 

    With practice and God's gift for doing what you love, you'll go so far that when you look back on these cringy pieces of art, you'll be able to smile and say to yourself, "Wow, I've come so far!"

    So keep on pushing forwards, maybe hide what you think is bad art, until you have need of it to feel better about yourself, and trust the process of improvement!

    If this post helped you out, let me know in a comment below and sign with your first name, and if you have any questions let me know!