Sola's view on art

09:05 Unknown 0 Comments

Luther Strode in 2011 vs 2016 Art by Tradd Moore

If you’ve taken any interest in art you’ve probably heard this many times, practice often.

Some people do art purely for enjoyment – they don’t give much thought for improving because they’re satisfied with the level they’re at. Others do art because they want to create something great, they want to be at the same level as their icons. The second camp want to get better, so they spend hours drawing and researching. This obviously benefits them, but there are a few easy pitfalls.

Let’s say you’ve put in enough time to become better than the average artist, but you’re still not great. You go to people or online communities to post your work and get feedback, and the praise is almost unanimously positive. This feels good, so you keep doing what you were doing and get more positive reinforcement. Because of this you keep making art at the same level instead of improving because of the complements you’re receiving.

I have been guilty of this myself. I found a weak area of my drawing and resolved to fix it. So I practiced and practiced at it. I got better, but I was stuck in a loop of practicing the same thing. It wasn’t until someone else pointed out that I was now competent in this area, but other areas were now my weakness. Improving in an area is important, but it’s also important to know when enough is enough and it is time to practice in a different area.

As an artist, you make money by creating art. It is noble to want to improve, but some artists are too shy about their own talents. Yes they know they will get better, but rather than doing commissions and selling art, they decide they aren’t good enough yet and instead keep practicing. There comes a point when you must realise your own strengths and sell your art – it’s why you became an artist in the first place.