When You Don't Like Your Artwork

One of the things that keeps people from creating in a nature journal or sketchbook more often is the fear of making a page they don't like.

It's important to remember that you won't like every page.  You will have days when your sketches fall flat, and nothing seems to work.  Perhaps you're tired or distracted.  Maybe you're out of practice and not feeling inspired.  We all have these days. That's normal.

Maybe you're experimenting, and you haven't found the way it works yet.

The important thing to do is to keep sketching -- keep creating!

Keep trying new things, exploring different approaches, different media even.

Remind yourself that if you like every page in a sketchbook, you're probably not trying hard enough.  

Every artwork does not need to have a purpose other than the experience of creating it.

And if you turn the page and keep creating, you'll find subjects that inspire you, and techniques that work for you.

Pablo Picasso famously said, "Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working."

I don't love every painting and sketch I make, but I know that making "bad" art is part of the process. If you trust the process and keep creating, you learn, develop new skills and make wonderful discoveries.

The "meh" pages make the "Wow!" pages more satisfying.

Happy Creating!