/ic/ - Artwork/Critique

>>7143203
>it's how it feels looking at the works of artists who had spent years, if not decades, improving their craft, while being a complete beginner myself
I can appreciate this sentiment, as I have been there myself, and my best advice would be to lower your expectations. Carl Jung said that life cannot go forward except from the place one happens to be. in other words, you're simply not going to get to your favorite artist's level without going through various intermediary stages. progress can be non-linear and you can have instances of rapid growth, but on the whole it will take time, perhaps decades. I realize accepting the reality of things is not as simple as snapping your finger or merely thinking about it once and having a complete personality shift, but the repeated process of trying to come to grips with your abilities and what it will take to get there should help you to see some progress there. I have also reframed my aspirations: once I started thinking long-term - that it may be 15-20 years until I get to where I am confident in my abilities, I have found myself to be a lot more accepting of my artistic shortcomings. but that's because I'm in it for the long haul. also try not to bite off more than you can chew. Steve Huston has a good video on this, about finding a sweet spot of difficulty to maximize gains: https://youtu.be/Cmhv1ZoCDUs?si=ZB6n4kQxEkmvO7ZE too easy is boring, too hard is disheartening. also, try to be aware that your emotions aren't necessarily true: you don't *have* to agree with your hopelessness, your frustration. If I did, I would have remained a quitter a few years ago and would've never decided that giving up on art doesn't sit right with me either. now I'm 4~ years in and have been making clear improvements with the time I'm given. I'm still not good, but perhaps one day I'll get there. I just don't want to live with the regret of not trying, and it seems like part of you doesn't either.