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 ?

Hey OP, two things occur to me:

1. any artist I have ever met continues to attend classes, seek mentors and learn and improve throughout their career. To take a famous example - Grayson Perry became renowned as a ceramicist, then decided to add textiles to his repertoire mid-career. So started again in a new medium. To take a less famous example: Octavia Milner (an artist based in Peckham) started in textiles, moved to watercolours, added in acrylics, and elements of collage, etchings and printmaking, expanded to sculpture, changed her colour palette and went large with her canvasses. She's done this over the course of a couple of decades, and 'went back to school' along the way at Morley College, so she could get professional input and feedback. She was already a successful professional artist when she went back to school.
2. If you ever read that FT column about successful people, they nearly always respond to question, 'Ambition or talent, what matters most' with ambition - the energy and desire to keep on doing the thing you're good at, so it can make its way in the world. (The most honest of them actually say luck is most important, but that's by the bye!) Talent without ambition is a gorgeous car without an engine, it would seem.

So -- keep painting, don't be afraid to take classes and learn.

Hiya, art takes years and years of practice to get really good, a lot of people stop because they start out and think they’re crap.... just keep going, fuck anyone else. Even you will have a different view point on the work you do now in a year if you keep practicing. Jimi Hendrix could once only play a small guitar tune - imagine if he’d compared himself and given up!!!!

@Juno231

Don't compare your day 1 to someone else's year 10

Spot on. I kept saying this to my mum when she wanted to paint - she would look at something and see how good it was and only once I said that she was looking at the finished project, that had gone through many revisions and changes did she start to get the unfair expectation she had put on herself.

It’s just really sad that we so often think we have to be good at something to do it, whereas I’m magnetically (or masochistically) drawn towards activities for which I have zero aptitude - probably because the improvements come so quickly at the beginning. So that’s its own buzz for a while, then I move on to something else.

'Talent' is a silly myth - nobody is born magically endowed with skill; one has to take the time and effort to achieve that. And most people are capable of achieving it, but most people equally aren't interested in putting in the effort (by no means a judgement - just describing that motivation is essentail in order to keep going long enough to gain the skills).

Is it James Smith PT (someone like that) who is really fond of pointing out that every Olympic swimmer alive today had to learn how to swim once? I think you should keep going and see what happens Op.

@AnastarziaAnaqway

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

But I'll bet that all the people who know you admire you for being wonderfully multi-talented. It's fabulous to be good at so many things, even if you don't particularly excel at any one. Think of how interesting and varied that makes your life! I may be biased because I, too, am a bit of a Jack of all trades, but I like not being so brilliant at one thing that following that path excludes all others.

If you post anything creative on social media all you get is people telling you how you could improve (and I’m a professional 🙄). There will always be ways you can improve, but you don’t have to take advice from random strangers on the internet!

Hi,
I used to be good at art. I did equivalent GCSE and A level and loved it.

Do occasionally do it and have varied successes and failures. I went to a small art group for two years and improved an enormous amount. My best friend has proof as I painted a picture of the the flower her house was called and gave it to her for Christmas and she was thrilled. I am no where near as good as I was that time. I hardly do any now. It is the practice that makes you improve. During this time I had a family of four. The youngest a girl showed an interest from three and was able to draw better than her brothers and more advance than a normal child’s drawings.
She continued and won first prize in a local village show. Then when she went to Secondary she didn’t take art. I was disappointed but her choice she wanted to do the other subject more. Come A levels and they wouldn’t let her take A level Art because she hadn’t done GCSE. She was upset. I saw a doodle she did while talking on the phone to her friend. It was of pirate ships on a rough sea. It was amazing. So I told her to do some work and take it to the new teacher and ask if she could do GCSE. The teacher told me later if she had just asked she would have turned her down but said she couldn’t when she saw her raw work with no training. DD loved it. Completed the year and won second prize against A level students. Went on to University to study art.
She came back after a few weeks on the Foundation course and said “I didn’t realise that people could do an art degree when they can’t draw!”
Her best friend on the course said he was amazed at her drawing skills and wished he could draw like that. He produced a final piece that I didn’t understand and neither did the tutor( linked to computer science and materials) and I asked her if she thought he might be famous one day. She thought it was a possibility. He went onto a sculptor degree. DD went onto another Uni and has a BA now and works part time to survive and is an artist. I am telling you this to encourage you to keep going she has had some knock backs but also has some work in a well known gallery. She keeps learning and keeps going. She was way better than me at drawing when she was 18 her portraits are amazing but she doesn’t want to do that and has hardly drawn one since. At the art show lots of people knew the girl she drew four portraits of and she didn’t go to her school or live in the city! I can’t draw like that at all. I can draw other things like plants and it is just through practice that I get better and I was definitely better when I went to classes but I do get enjoyment from it and plan to do a lot more in the future.

Sorry for the long post but I wanted you to see that it doesn’t matter.

Please don’t give up. Keep going for your own pleasure but also look into classes near you and in the future join one if only for the joy of drawing and painting with others. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Nottherealslimshady. Thank you! thats excellent advice ! I too like to draw and feel Im a bit hum ho too .Interestingly Joanna Lumley on one of her travels, said she like to draw and it was just something she liked to do for herself. Didnt matter what anyone else thought! I am going to keep going anyway!

I’m also a jack of all trades. I can sew a bit, sing a bit, draw a bit, play a sport reasonably well, done well in my job etc. I’ve learned to embrace it as I’ve got older. I try and see myself as well-rounded and able to pick up things quickly.

When I’m at choir or a sewing group there are tons of people better than me but maybe that’s all they do? Whereas I have quite a range of interests. I’ve stopped trying to be an expert at any of it. Just enjoy it at your own level.

I had this when I was young.

Applied to art college at 19, spent six months at art evening classes to build up my portfolio. Took it to the college interview and the tutor looked at my work and laughed. Said I had no chance of getting on the course.

Twenty one years ago and I’ve not drawn or painted a thing since.

If you love it, don’t give up OP.

Firstly if you've only just take it up again you won't be as good as someone who has been doing it for years and years non-stop. While I think there is something to do with a bit of raw talent as far as art concerned I also think it's something you can work on, improve, etc

. So yes, keep going. The main thing is that you enjoy it.

But also remember that art is subjective. Look at some of the stuff Picasso painted - worth millions. But some of them you think if a 14yo had painted them for their course work the art teacher would probably be a bit "meh" and grade them a C.

@Wilburgh

Applied to art college at 19, spent six months at art evening classes to build up my portfolio. Took it to the college interview and the tutor looked at my work and laughed. Said I had no chance of getting on the course.

That's a shocking thing for them to say. Really unprofessional for a start. Says far more about them than your work, @Wilburgh

I trained in art but don't currently practice much. Someone added me to to an amateur Facebook art group. The art that gets allllll the praise is never, IMO, the stuff that's particularly good. I think people like stuff that's to their taste, or would match their interior decor. Similarly, I witness my non-artistic in laws praise certain pictures (usually the neat "completed" looking ones) by the grandchildren and fail to notice the ones that actually show developing artistic skill.

I don't mean this to sound snobby. I don't think personal taste is intrinsically less valuable than artistic skill but they are different.

I can't recommend evening classes enough if you want to be challenged in a helpful way.

@BenWyatt

If you post anything creative on social media all you get is people telling you how you could improve (and I’m a professional 🙄). There will always be ways you can improve, but you don’t have to take advice from random strangers on the internet!

True

but if you post something on private social media, all you get is friends or relatives who will tell you it's "amazing"

They mean it kindly, or feel they HAVE to like your work, but you know it's complete nonsense.

It's a bit like AIBU. It might sting but you get a more honest opinion from complete strangers. If you don't want to know, stay well away.

Agree with pp that art is so subjective. Please keep going, and Wilburgh, start up your art again!

There was a brilliant Imagine documentary about Sean Scully, he really struggled to get into art school but is now v successful. It was a v thought provoking programme whatever you think of his art

i think it depends on where you want to go with it.
I love drawing/painting/ceramics - do them regularly, but am rubbish at them.
I also started to learn the bass. Do I need to spell it out...? crap, of course.

But I don't want to actually get anywhere with these. I do it for my own benefit and to my family's dismay :)
If you want critical feedback that you can grow from, ask specific questions. Eg in my pottery class i never ask the potter guy "what do you think?/how do you like it?"
I try to ask: copmared to last week's try, what did I do better or worse? How would you change it if it was yours?

The point is that you have put distance between yourself and the work you produce. Whatever the quality (within reason) it is not about your personality or belief system. It's about a subjective piece of thing that people can have an opinion about that doesn't take into account you as a person.

I joined a facebook adult colouring page- the work of some people is amazing compared to mine- even though I consider myself well above average at it- I still post and use other people's art to help me improve mine and provide inspiration- it's good to improve and it doesn't matter if others are better- you might be one of the better ones if you keep practising! Art is definitely a skill that can improve dramatically with time- keep going!

Don't give up.
See if you can do some online courses or watch videos to learn aspects of technique.
If you haven't done any art since GCSE it'll probably be technical aspects holding you back.
Once night classes start again, whenever that will be, who knows, you could join a class and learn that way. I have friend who was doing an oil-painting course and the difference in her work over the couple of years was astounding.

An artist friend severely dyslexic, dyspraxic, did not get the A levels for uni. so did a foundation course, then uni. struggled for years, now he is 42 you see him on tv. He suffers so much doubt in his work and is still learning he says. When you can join a drawing class at your local college and enjoy learning techniques, shortcuts to improve your work it is rewarding.

I can sympathise OP. I could've written your post, except my "thing" is photography. There's a world of difference between a good picture and a not so good one, and I'm finding out a huge amount from the people on the on-line group and improving as a result.

Keep at it. As you learn and look at other peoples work for inspiration, you'll settle in more and find yourself looking at things differently Also, art, as with photography, is something where you have your own style, so just work on that.

I'm an artist and a poet - both strictly amateur. I've only ever published academic writing, never my creative stuff.

I think a lot of people are put off by thinking these are God-given talents. They're not: like anything else they are skills that can be honed or refined with time and practice. No one is wonderful at this stuff overnight, IME.

I haven't done any sketching for about two years. I'm also entirely self-taught, and have learned what I know from books. I'd love to immerse myself in some more but I'm midway through a major writing project and sadly time is in the way.

Good luck with your art! If you love it, that's all that really matters.

There was a brilliant Imagine documentary about Sean Scully, he really struggled to get into art school but is now v successful. It was a v thought provoking programme whatever you think of his art

In fairness, self-belief was never an issue with Sean Scully to put it mildly and all the people who remember him in the early days remember his ferocious belief in himself (which I find out of all proportion to his talent, having seen a big retrospective of his work in Venice last year).

I loved drawing as a child, up until I went to university. Put my pocket money and birthday into supplies. Even then (pre-most of the internet) I was put off by how much better than me everyone was. Eventually, I went away to university and didn't draw anything until 15 years later.

My dad then died suddenly and, at the same time, there was an art programme on TV with artists who were good enough to be on television, but still making mistakes and learning about drawing, perspective, tonal values etc. I thought f* it, I used to love drawing, I'm giving it another go.

I had totally ruined art for myself by criticising myself and comparing my work with others'. I had bought into the idea of natural talent and thought I would never be good enough so what was the point. It took a crisis to realise how stupid that was.

I can now look at what I'm doing and congratulate myself on things I've done well, while also looking at things I can improve upon. And, most importantly, it makes me happy and brings me peace.

Also, I have noticed that some of the art FB groups I have tried are mainly vehicles for established/professional artists to build up a clientele base and page followers, rather than being learners' groups.
I tried a number of artist tutorials on Youtube and eventually subscribed to a couple of them on Patreon and found the feedback way more useful and the online group much more my level, as everyone was there to learn too.