My art is nowhere near as good as I thought

[AnastarziaAnaqway]

Don't know if this is the right thread, and it's hardly a massive world problem, just a bit of a confidence thing I guess.

I've always enjoyed drawing and had more time to do it since the lockdown. I thought I was pretty good, not absolutely amazing but as long as I liked it that was the main thing.

Anyway, I wanted to put it out there so I joined some online groups where people could freely share their art.

Now feel totally out of my depth. The vast majority of the work is incredible, I imagine a lot of them are professional artists.

I was interested in getting feedback, one person said that my work was pretty good but otherwise it was more along the lines of 'good start, keep going, try working on xyz'. Others were getting endless praise and compliments.

I've also had this with an instrument I play.

I suppose comparison is the thief of joy and the main thing is that I like my art. Just feel a bit out of my depth and had my confidence knocked really, anybody else felt this way ?

Sounds like a really great opportunity to learn and benefit from the experience of others.

Embrace it - if you’ve never had any teaching or exposure to other artists you may well be at the “good start” stage. Don’t be put off by that!

Yes-I joined a Facebook crafting group and exactly the same thing happened! I turned off notifications and left one group so I didn’t get dispirited.

Tbh I'm not really like this so not sure how much use I'll be. I dont care if I'm good at something I enjoy, or if someone else is better. Someone will ALWAYS be better than you at everything. That's just how it is, I think you've just overestimated yourself and now you've seen you rank lower than you thought but that's not really a bad thing, it's just life. Take their advice, learn from their work and appreciate that you enjoy doing it. So what if you're not super talented.

Yeah that's a good point. I did GCSE Art nearly 15 years ago but otherwise that's it !

Just felt a bit disappointed. Not expecting people to be gushing over all my drawings but I had the impression people thought they were a bit crap.
I'll try to keep going anyway.

as you say, comparison is the thief of joy- enjoy what you do and don't compare yourself to others
maybe when things are able to start up again, join a club or class- we all improve with practice- and you may find that a more encouraging atmosphere. The internet isn't known for people being kind to each other unfortunately

It depends why you do it. If you do it to have your work displayed somewhere then you probably do need to compare yourself to others. If you do it just because you enjoy it then it really doesn't matter what other people think.

I like to sing, I'm not trained. I think I'm pretty good at singing. I'm not going to rock up to the x-factor though because I have no intention of being a professional singer. My DS who's 8 months loves my singing and that makes me very happy.

Yeah it's a bit like the first time you play an online game that you can normally rinse your friends at

Once the sampling pool is billions of people you're quite likely to encounter some good ones

I've only just started getting in to doing "art"
...or I guess I've only just had the confidence to even try it.

Who are you creating art for? As you say you enjoy doing it so why does it matter how "good" it is.

Also, how long have you been doing it? You will improve the more you do it! Same with the musical instrument. The more you practice, the better you will become.

Art is so subjective and is soo personal. I don't like a lot of so called art- Tracey Emins stuff springs to mind!

Just keep at it if you enjoy it. Maybe look at local art classes if you really want to "improve". But do so because you want to not because you feel you have to prove yourself to others.

That's very true, there will always be prettier, more intelligent, more talented etc.

I have left the groups anyway and feel better for it.

That's the main thing, I get enjoyment from it so i shouldn't give up.

Thanks for the understanding :)

I'm literally not good at anything. Nothing at all. I'm not even sure I'm any good at my job, even though I've a qualification in it.

The two things I've always wanted to be able to do are draw and play the piano.

So here I am, wishing I could draw well enough to want to join a group. There will always be someone better than you, but also there will be people who wish they had your talent.

It's not a bad thing to be disabused of certain notions! If you're not very good, accept it and own it, but don't let it put you off. I'm shite at knitting, but I quite enjoy my knobbly scarves.

Everyone has to start somewhere. I am a creative professional, doing very well at what I do, and I think my work is high quality now! But when I look back at the stuff I did when I started it was really awful! You can only improve, practise makes perfect.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it :)

I just felt like giving up but this thread has helped me.

By the way OP there's an excellent book called "drawing on the right side of the brain" by Betty Edwards, have a google at some before and after pictures of people who went on her course / did the exercises promoted in her book. The difference within a week is astounding. I highly recommend this book.

here are a few examples: www.google.com/search?q=drawing+on+the+right+side+of+the+brain+before+and+after&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjg9qask-3qAhUPNBoKHWdiDqoQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=drawing+on+the+right+side+of+the+brain+befo&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgAMgIIADIECAAQGDoECAAQQzoGCAAQCBAeUJwrWN5GYIZOaANwAHgAgAFOiAGXBJIBATiYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ8ABAQ&sclient=img&ei=qaIeX6D-KY_oaOfEudAK&bih=951&biw=2000&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB866GB866&safe=strict

Perhaps the issue here is that you yourself 'thought you were good '
Artist's usually never feel they are good enough and constantly learning.
However art is subjective and possibly other artist's look down on others who are self taught.
I would be interested to see examples of your work on here.
If you enjoy it keep going and remember you are doing it for your own pleasure and not others.

Thanks, that's brilliant i'll look :)
Sometimes I feel like i'm one of those Jack of all trades Master of none.
I do running, I sing, do other sports, and i'm pretty decent at them but i'm not amazing at any of them at the same time.
Just feel a bit 'meh' and average, even though I know it's not a competition.
Just kind of wish I could be known for something and seen as talented.

Don't give up OP!

I can barely manage to draw a snowman, and would love a tiny bit of talent!
Keep going!!!!

There is always going to be some one better than you. My granny started painting and painted a vase of flowers in oil paints and took it home to show my grandad and he started laughing at. She stopped painting then. She hid it and it only ever came back out when he died. She really loved painting but she never picked a brush up again.

Don’t let people put you off doing something you enjoy

My art is nowhere near as good as I thought.

Says who? Only you. You’re overthinking this OP. There are probably some of the artists that are where you’d like to be so use them as inspiration. See how they do what they do. Try to get to where YOU want to be and enjoy the journey. Also, don’t focus too much on mealy mouthed praise or criticism as people sometimes have their own agenda. Don’t get down hearted. Take Damien Hirst for example. Not my cup of tea, can’t see what a lot of it’s about but he’s very very successful because of massive self belief. He doesn’t care who likes it or not. He certainly doesn’t care what I think and good for him!!

I understand completely getting disheartened but don’t look sideways, enjoy your own journey and look to improve your own skills.

Paddle your own canoe OP - I bet you’re turning out some lovely stuff

Thanks, that's very true, it's just when I joined those groups I felt like majority of them were at a totally different level to me.
I'll try to keep going.

I think i'm having a confidence crisis in all areas as a result which is silly. I just need to improve my confidence and look at things i've achieved so far.

Years ago I joined an on-line group to share photographs and get advice. I quickly realised that I was way out of my depth, but persevered . I never go to the level of some of the group, but got a lot of useful feedback and tips which greatly helped me. I didn't see it as a competition, but as an opportunity to learn.

Although some artists have great self belief I also definitely agree with a previous poster who said some artists are extremely self critical! You sound like you are. Let it drive you on to get even better!!

People aren’t ‘just talented’ though, that’s a myth. It takes work to become an expert on something. They might have a talent to begin with but they have to develop their talent into a skill and work on it.

If you give up because other people are better than you then you never get better so it’s a self fulfilling prophecy.

People who are actually great at these things are inspired by greatness and work hard to become so themselves. It’s about having a growth mindset.