"Why Time Served Doesn't Matter in the Art World: A Surprising Perspective"
As artists, we don’t often hear people compare the creative process to being in prison. The idea is that becoming a skilled artist takes a long time and requires a lot of hard work and dedication – much like serving a sentence. While there is some truth to this idea, it's important to remember that art is not about how much time you've spent practicing.
Sure, practice is important, but it's not the only factor that determines an artist's success. In fact, it's often said that talent and natural ability are just as important as practice when it comes to creating great art.
So what makes an artist truly successful? To me, it's the ability to convey emotion and tell a story through their work. This is what separates a good artist from a great one. It's not about how much time you've spent practicing, it's about the impact your art has on others.
But as artists, it's easy to get so fixated on the process of creating art that we lose sight of the reason we made it in the first place. We become so focused on the technical aspects – the brushstrokes, the color choices, the composition – that we forget about the emotional and storytelling elements that are often the most powerful and meaningful parts of our work.
This is why it's so important to take a step back and remember why we create art in the first place. For many of us, it's a way to express ourselves, to connect with others, and to share our perspectives and experiences with the world. It's a way to connect with our own emotions and share them with others in a way that words can't quite capture.
But it's not just about the individual artist – the art world is full of diversity and there is room for everyone. There is a lot of market variability, and skilled artists have a niche just as amateurs do. The worth of your art is not diminished or increased because of the art of another, and time served does not mean you are capable of copyrighting an idea. In fact, there is no such thing as an original idea. Even music is based on seven notes, and the theory of impermanence talks about how everything is built off of something else. The whole is the sum of its parts.
So the next time you're working on a piece of art, take a moment to think about the story you want to tell and the emotions you want to convey. Remember that it's not just about how you made the art, but about why you made it. And don't worry about what others are doing – focus on creating work that is true to yourself and your own vision. There is a place for everyone in the art world, and the most important thing is to stay true to yourself and your craft.