Thread by @inkfycreates

Meme aside, I've seen people fret about the idea of progressing in such little time, but it honestly depends on what YOUR idea of time is. To some people 2 years is A LOT of time, while for others it's can seem like nothing. Artistic progress is exponential rather than linear.

https://twitter.com/MakinaKid/status/1332852233159970823

Many things can happen within a span of a year, month, weeks, or even days. A life-changing event can occur leaving you with more personal time. It can also have the opposite effect as well. You have less time to work on your art so you don't have as much time to spend.

As a result, you may see that time as precious and work to improve at a steady pace. It can also be that due to having more time, you have more chances to experiment and explore your artistic ideas. It really depends on your personal circumstances.

This is why it may seem odd looking at improvement memes and seeing such a difference in what you consider to be a "short" time. How long is truly "long" for an artist to improve? What really goes on in a span of 1 year? 2 years? 5 years? 10? I argue the number doesn't matter.

What DOES matter is HOW you spend that time WITHIN your personal circumstances. I know I've been drawing/learning a lot more since the pandemic. Mainly because my classes have moved online leaving me with more time than usual. Some people don't have that luxury.

Does this mean you can never find the time to anything ever? No. It's more about planning, sacrifices, and balance. What would you spend LESS time on in order to do MORE artistic practice? Would you spend less time watching that show? Playing games? Other hobbies?

This isn't to place the blame on having other interests. That's not the point and would be ridiculous. The reason this is highlighted is because every action we make has a consequence. This can be positive, negative, and maybe indifferent altogether.

Your first thought may be to just spend every single waking moment doing art. However, while some people do like that life, it has to be sustainable AND meet your needs. The truth is that you NEED to have a break from art. That has be accounted for because you're only human!

If you have bills to pay, a family to take care of, and more responsibilities you probably aren't going to spend much time on art. That's perfectly fine. Art takes time. However, worrying about what time you haven't had to spend yet won't make that appear faster.

Life is unpredictable. What you may be able to do today, might not happen tomorrow. We can't possible account for everything we want to do. So instead of worrying about what little time we have left, we should try our best to make use of that time doing something we enjoy.

I understand. I really do. I understand wishing for more time to spend on art. I understand wondering, "if I did this NOW I would be better" I understand wishing you had that support earlier in life. Sadly, all we have is what we are now and what we choose to do later in life.