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A few of my favourite art pieces from this year! I think my biggest achievement was starting to get rid of the pressure and anxiety surrounding making art. Learning how to enjoy creating is not always easy but really worth it.
I used to feel so much pressure and discomfort pushing myself to get better and making artwork ended up just being a painful chore
I kind of just accepted all these negative emotions as a necessary evil part of the process but over the past few years I've started trying to work my way out of them
a few ideas that have helped me break the negative thinking patterns that may seem obvious but can be really difficult to internalise and put into practice:
Really introspect about what subject material makes you happy to make. Don’t make stuff you think others want if you don’t have to. Sometimes were influenced by others without even realising it and we end up not enjoying the art we make
Figure out a process that you actually enjoy, not just an end goal. If you figure out how to make each step of your process something enjoyable the process won’t be painful or exhausting
Figure out a physically comfortable work environment. Sometimes you put yourself in a bad mindset just because you’re all crunched up and tense for no reason. Most of these pieces were made while I was chilling on the couch while watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Gradually step outside your comfort zone. Don’t launch yourself at something brand new all at once if you can avoid it. It ends up just being discouraging and frustrating. Balance the familiar with the new and exciting
I used to have a backwards mindset where if I didn't suffer and push myself too hard then I wouldn't improve and succeed, but this mindset just caused me to procrastinate and avoid working altogether
If you figure out how to enjoy your work the productivity and improvement will happen as a natural byproduct
also even if you make amazing, amazing stuff, if you hate every second of it you might be on the wrong path. For personal work/hobbies Id rather be bad at something I love doing than great at something I hate
