# I spent many years of my life hating my own art and taking long breaks. Periods of sometimes years where I made no art at all.

http://i.imgsafe.org/78c4d0222a.jpg

I would perhaps make something I thought was amazing and it would get no recognition. Or I would publicly post a piece I love and watch it get torn apart virtually. Or maybe I tried to execute something and failed miserably. This stuff can be emotionally exhausting and sometimes it can even make you want to give up. But I am hoping I can motivate you to keep going. I now create art every day and the more I create art the more established I find myself becoming as an artist. 

* ### Don't compare yourself to other artists.

http://i.imgsafe.org/78c6678055.jpg

Now, I don't mean not to learn from great artists. Do that, for sure. But if you find yourself thinking things like *"I will never be that good so  why should I bother?"* I suggest you remind yourself that becoming a great artist takes years, and YEARS of practice, patience, and dedication. You won't be as good as that artist overnight and you won't be if you dwell on how "bad" you feel now about your art. Just keep creating and you **will** improve. 

* ### Lose some of your expectations.

Stop expecting so much. I have countless times poured my heart and soul into a project for days or weeks and that made me have some sort of expectation. This **will** be well received. This **will** win the contest. This **will** get purchased right away. You may end up building yourself up for something to ultimately let you down. Instead focus on how much you are enjoying the process of creating. Something I do now when I create paintings is I decide I am completely fine keeping them on **my** wall and I don't need them to sell. As of right now, I have sold all of my paintings and need to work on more but I wasn't sitting and waiting and being sad about it when they were hanging on my own wall. Easing up on your expectations may improve your overall mood and help you to keep creating rather than feeling rejected. 

* ## Try out new mediums when you feel a lack of inspiration.

I did nothing but realistic pencil portraits for years. 

http://i.imgsafe.org/78db3497a8.jpg

Such as that one. ^ But after awhile I started to feel burnt out and tired. I was bored. Also, it's hard selling black and white pencil pieces and creating NOTHING else as an artist was a sure fire way to not make my passion into my career. Everything changed when I hung out with a friend who was a sculptor and I made my first polymer clay piece. 

http://i.imgsafe.org/78e3439090.jpg

That little guy. He made it to the front page of reddit gaming and was retweeted by "Geek &Sundry" but more importantly I had FUN while making him. I wasn't being a perfectionist and I was just enjoying the process. I then branched out more. Creating a very niche coloring book called "Sad Girl" and also started painting with acrylics. I now try to switch it up if I get bored. I don't ever do the same exact art or style day after day because that drains away my vitality and having vitality is a key component of being a successful artist. 

* ## Just do it. Even if it's just a doodle. 

http://i.imgsafe.org/78f4c855a5.jpg

The main thing is to "just do it". Even if you lack energy or inspiration do SOMETHING. Even a small creation. More often than not you will find that just the act of creating something small may spark your inspiration and you will end up creating more than you planned. So get out your pencils, paint, yarn, musical instruments, pen, whatever and start creating for at least 30 minutes, every day. 

**Every. Single. Day.** 

*Okay, okay, you can take a day off for some extreme circumstances but you better have a dead relative or something. Otherwise, no excuses pick up the damn utensil of your choice and make something.*

http://i.imgsafe.org/790a427834.jpg

### Nobody becomes the master of their craft without a long, hard road before hand. Remember that. 

**Actually another useful tip is to start keeping a timeline of your art with dates. If you feel a lack of confidence look at some work from many months/years ago. If you are practicing EVERY day this will eventually become very motivational!**


Photos:
Paint:
https://pixabay.com/en/color-acrylic-paint-oil-paint-866102/

Sad Girl:
https://pixabay.com/en/girl-sad-crying-art-illustration-638061/

Create:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/llowrain/5523800294

Art Supplies: 

https://pixabay.com/en/photos/acrylic%20paints/