so it's 2020, brand new year. and the way that 2019 ended is kind of interesting to
me, because most years, social media is always in a state of panic,
because every year is just the "worst possible year". but the end of 2019,
from my point of view, seemed really optimistic and people have been like,
"okay, this year is my year". it's really contagious! and so I'm gonna have
to agree: 2020 is gonna be my year. the main topic of this video is for those
who might have a goal for 2020 to get back into art. I think it's a really common
thing for people to be interested in art and then suddenly stop doing it.
I've definitely accidentally quit art before. like most artists, I don't have a
superhero artists origin story. They're always the same: I started drawing when I was a
kid. yeah I know, everyone starts drawing when they're a kid! the difference
between starting when you're a kid and being artist when you're an adult, is
that you just don't stop. and for me, I became more productive in high school
because I had another friend who also liked drawing. my friend and I saw each
other every weekend, it was kind of like having a deadline.
we would go away during the school days, fill our sketchbooks, and at the weekend
we would switch our books and take a look at what we were doing, because we
really enjoyed the sharing process of it. after we moved out and we started
getting day jobs, you have completely opposite schedules, you live in different
cities, you don't see each other anymore, and so that deadline for working in your
sketchbook just went away, and we just naturally drew a lot less. that was
the hardest part for me, was trying to get back into it. and a lot of people
just say that about themselves, saying "I used to be good at drawing and now I am
not anymore." it sounds very final. it sounds like a
characteristic of yourself. it sounds like something that you can't change.
it's just like exercise... like when I was a teenager I used to be able to go
to dance class for three hours and not stop or drink water, and now I couldn't
do it for four minutes. I probably could if I started practicing again, but it's
hard to get started. and there's not a whole lot of motivation because you know
that at first, it's gonna suck. it's gonna hurt. why put yourself through that?
art was the same way. it was completely like that. I started trying to
do daily challenges. I found those really hard. I got really desperate and so I
signed up for college classes in Fine Arts. I would go to work 40 hours a week
during the day, and I would go to classes for 2 or 4 hours, 4 days a week.
my husband would tell me, when I was doing school he never saw me. I had to do
a 4-foot painting every week. that's just to get used to making the
time. you can do that in ways that don't involve going to school. you can
make yourself deadlines. you can start a YouTube channel and pick a schedule. you
can start a blog instead. you can join a sketching group like our local
meetups. you can do an online sketching group, like what we're doing on patreon.
this month we are doing water themed work in our sketch book, which
keeps me (accountable). sometimes in the beginning you just have to practice just doing things.
you can start with things that you like, things that you're comfortable with. I
try to pick things that I'm less comfortable with but also kind of
inspired by, so that there's at least an interest there. you want to be more
well-rounded artist all right? so it's easier and nothing is too daunting to
try. I always say that if I don't have an idea of what to draw or paint, it
means that I'm not going out enough, I'm not looking at other art enough, I'm not
hearing enough stories, I'm not reading enough books, I'm not getting out there,
I'm just living in this little vacuum, in this little house. do whatever it takes
to regain that childlike wonder. when we're kids, we don't have issues thinking
about what to draw because our imaginations are going crazy,
asking lots of questions like why, why is this flower shiny when this
flower is not? why does this bird have eyes? where do eyes come from? we had so
much wonder when we're kids. I guess for a quick roundup of ways to get back
into art - it doesn't matter what you're using. one: work on practicing and make the time.
pick a schedule and see if you can stick with it for a short period of time,
and see if it gets easier, because it's just like exercise. you just got to start
somewhere. as you accumulate work that you've been doing, it's sort of like
an instant reward and you'll see it and you'll want to keep going.
Two: figure out what inspires you. what do you wonder about when you're in the shower?
what weird, childlike ideas did you used to have? how have you been looking at the
world , taking advantage of it and forgetting how wondrous it is?
Three: accept and keep track of all of these little tiny ideas. make a notebook, keep
the sketchbook, just make tiny little thumbnails (which is like tiny little
rough sketch drawings of your ideas). every time you have a dream, draw it out.
every little thing! because later on when your skills get better you might
look back on it and be like "that was kind of a neat little idea, maybe I could
actually do it justice now?" Finally: look at a lot of art. I've been following
a lot of young people on Twitter and it hurts. it hurts, because everyone's so
good and they're so much better than me, and it's making me feel old and out of
touch. just look at what other people are doing. see specifically what it is that
you like about it. maybe it's the subject matter, maybe it's
their way of combining strange things that don't fit together but they kind of
do, the color schemes? be jealous, but in a good way. in a productive way. In an
"I can do that and I want to do that" kind of way. be careful with it.... like right
now, I mean apart from what I just said about my own art, I find it hard to be
motivated to do stuff lately. 2020 I've decided, has to be my year.
I don't know how to make it happen. I'm seeing where I want to be, and I'm seeing
where I am, and the divide is so wide that the light doesn't even hit it, and I
can't see how to get there. how do I get my stuff out there? how do i improve to
be as good as everyone else right now? good luck!
subscribe to my channel if you want more videos like this. give me questions if
you want me to chat about something else. join our patreon if you want to be part
of our monthly theme sketchbook group. fill up your sketchbooks so you have
that excuse to buy a new sketchbook! ...and to get better, yes. because a year from
now, you're gonna be like "man, I am so glad I started this a year ago
because look where I am now!" that could be you. thanks for watching guys, I will see you
next time.