Doing the Dang Thing

It gets real boring being criticized and critiqued by someone who isn’t doing any better than you are in any area of life, especially when they pretend to be an expert in something they don’t even produce while making fun of the people who actually do.

How can you critique others when you could so easily be critiqued yourself? I have always believed that art should have no rules. Anyone should be able to create whatever they want, with whatever materials they want, in whatever way feels right to them. Creating is personal, and no one else gets to tell you how to do it.

I can be a real jerk if you’re mean to me, but I don’t really want to make fun of people’s art. The only time I’ve ever done that is to show someone how it feels, because it’s just not a normal thing to do. People should be able to create without judgment, even if it’s not your style.

But despite always believing that, I still found myself overanalyzing everything I was doing. Because people who want to critique you are always going to find something to critique.

Here’s the thing: there are really only two people who will criticize you on a regular basis. Yourself, and someone who has already decided they don’t like you and wants to see you fail. You have to learn to stop listening to both of them.

So if you’re new to making art, or really anything you do simply because you love it, enjoy the shit out of it.

A good friend once told me that when it came to watercolor, drawing, all of it, I needed to let loose. He would say, “Let the watercolor run. Let your pen go. Stay loose and enjoy it.”

That was hard for me at first, but the more I’ve leaned into being loose and imperfect, the more my art has started to feel like me. Honestly, I think it has gotten better because of it.

It may not be for everyone, and you can say whatever you want about it. You can like it or not, but I’m doing the damn thing, and I’m selling the damn things. That sounds like success to me.

And while we’re on the subject of people making fun of others, if you find that your friends laugh and encourage you to keep beefing with people, it’s probably because deep down they know that’s really who you are.

But I know one thing. My friends discourage me from it because they think I’m so much better than that. ✌🏼💜 We’re not the same.