To all the stick-figure drawers out there,

You may believe that you lack the talent to create an eye-pleasing masterpiece, or the ability to construct art is a gift a person was born with. You may believe that art isn’t a hobby to pick up on, since it doesn’t pay the bills. All these points could possibly be true, but art isn’t something that shouldn’t be swept under the rug.

Art is a subjective concept. There’s no wrong way of doing it. That’s why there’s a plethora of sub genres- abstract, realism, surrealism, brush painting, cartoon, manga, pointillism, the list goes on. There’s a genre for everyone, the only thing you have to do is find what speaks to you. 

Each artist has a vision; their own way of visualizing what they’re going to create. Dali’s paintings and photos derived from his dreams. Van Gogh liked to go to the sunflower field near his home and paint the sunflower fields into intricate blobs. What I’m saying is that it doesn’t take a team of scientists to come up with a concept. As long as it makes you happy, you can draw, paint, or sculpt whatever you desire.

I know what you’re going to say next: But I still can’t do anything more than a stick-figure.

You’re wrong.

You’re the only person in the entire world that’s telling you that you can’t draw something that’s more intricate than five lines and a circle connected together. Do you think that Picasso or Da Vinci started off drawing abstract portraits or murals? No. Everyone starts from square one. Although there are some people whose square ones are more advanced than others, what makes a difference between those who are more advanced than others is their drive to become better.

The same lesson is applied to every other aspect in your life as well.

You wouldn’t have graduated high school if you didn’t improve.

You wouldn’t have learned how to walk or talk as a child either if it wasn’t for a human’s desire to learn and become better than you were. 

Why aren’t you able to do the same with art? Simple, you’re simply told that you are not good enough.

Go draw those stick figures of yours, but for every person you draw, add another detail. Each trial, you learn how to draw something else. Take it a step further- add depth to those details a little at a time. Challenge yourself to do better. That’s all you can do.

Just remember: No one is perfect at anything. Every professional in their field is alway improving, so you should do the same.

Sincerely, 

     Tori Devine