Creating An Art Practice

Why it is important to create your own art practice before you get distracted by the sheen of social media. 

We are living in an era where all information is coming to you at supersonic speeds. Any question that enters our head can be answered in the time it takes you to type it into Google. With that type of instant gratification becoming hardwired into our brains, the idea of cultivating anything at a slow and steady pace feels counterintuitive to contemporary culture. There’s no speed involved and zero instant outcome, so where’s the incentive?

If you are an artist or you want to begin creating, the first port of call is to cultivate an art practice. One where you form a new habit and repeat it enough times for it to stick and become something you do without having to think about it too much. 

An art practice might mean waking up half an hour earlier than usual to develop your drawing skills. It could mean, not watching an extra episode on Netflix and using that time to look at a painting technique you’ve always wanted to experiment with. And over time and repetition, that half an hour becomes a habit that you have formed that your life has fitted around. The more you explore and experiment, the more you develop your art skills and techniques and an art practice is born. 

With the practice and honing of skills, your artistic confidence grows and blossoms and now you are not so easily swayed to look at the next shiny object on instagram because you know what it actually takes to develop and harness your skillset. You know there is absolutely nothing wrong with you because you didn’t turn into an overnight artistic success as deemed by social media. There is an understanding that you know what you are doing and you have the ability to stay with your hearts calling and not be fooled into rushing in where there seems to be a shortcut or a hack to becoming an artist in 10 days or less. 

So when you are back scrolling on your phone don’t get distracted by the show reel of instagram that does not inhabit the daily rituals we all have in order to create the art we cultivate. It may not make for great glossy grids, but it sure does make for an art practice that will carry you through and help you to become the artist that you know you can be.