Artist Needs a Little Encouragement

Hello Papabear, 

Um first time reader and writer to your website.

I've been trying to get back into drawing lately, but haven't been able to get into the flow of it and get frustrated and toss my sketch away, but when I get told to take a break from drawing that is the opposite of what I wanna do. 

What advice could you give to get my head outta the gutter and get me back to drawing or sketching?

Krew

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Dear Krew,

Drawing is similar to writing in that they are both artistic endeavors; therefore, some of the same rules apply to both. Have you ever heard of the 10,000-hour rule? This theory says that anyone can become an expert at something if they stick to it religiously for 10,000 hours. That means if you worked at it for 4 hours a day, 7 days a week, you would become a fabulous artist in about 6 and a half years or so. A less stringent guideline is the 1,000 hour rule that says you can become pretty good at something with 1,000 hours of practice.

That’s just a general notion, I suppose. Some people are gifted with natural artistic talent, and for them they can achieve much more in a much shorter time. But even if you are a terrible artist now, the point is that anyone can improve with lots of hard work.

What you need to do, Krew, is set aside specific hours each week to concentrate on your drawing. Find a place where you can focus without distraction and enjoy the process of drawing. It is clearly in your blood because when you aren’t drawing it is all you think about, right?

Now the other thing you need to do is get rid of that inner critic—the artist’s worst enemy, the one that makes you throw away your sketches as soon as you draw them. Instead of tossing them, keep them, even the ones you really hate. Keep them in folders and date them. Then keep drawing. Then, a few months, or maybe a year or more from now, go back and look at them and compare them to what you are currently drawing. If you have been practicing at least 10 or more hours a week, Papabear bets you will see considerable improvement.

Here’s some evidence to back up: 

Yours truly, a nonartist, drew it after a few lessons.

Maybe not great art, but not bad, right? Papabear would love to see some of your art sometime.

Bear Hugs,

Papabear