Be patient

Article by Luca Molnar

We as human beings often would like to have everything right away. We want to be successful and happy, we want to draw and paint like Michelangelo, be thinner or prettier and we want all of these by tomorrow. If it doesn’t happen quickly enough, we loose faith and move on to our next goal. However things take time in this universe…

Greatness is not given easily nor quickly. Salvador Dali and Hieronymus Bosch didn’t become famous overnight, nor did they paint their masterpieces in 2 hours. They studied and practiced, failed and tried again more times than anyone could count. What they did differently from most of us is that they kept trying and believed in themselves even when no one else did. Just remember how Dali barely had something to eat for years and no one seemed to like his paintings. Or look at the earliest works of some of the most talented artists, those paintings simply aren’t good, in some cases we can even say that they are terrible.

However these artists were patient and kept studying until they became the very best of their time.

In reality talent and luck look a lot like hard work. That’s why you should never stop practicing. It’s okay if you don’t get it quite right for the first or for the 100th times, one day you will. It’s alright if you have to practice drawing an eye for weeks, it doesn’t mean you are not talented, it doesn’t really mean anything. Learning how to draw and paint well takes a LOT of time, it takes years and decades but it always worth it.

Today most artists prefer to finish a painting in a few hours. However, no masterpiece has ever been created in a few hours. It doesn’t matter how many paintings one creates; what matters is the quality of the work.

Did you know that it took 7 years for Da Vinci to complete the Mona Lisa?

I think we can all agree that result is simply breathtaking.

An ordinary painter probably paints around 500 pieces during seven years, but the world doesn’t remember any of those paintings.

See, time is so relative, so you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself about it. Take your time and spend months on a painting if the piece needs it and let people think that you’re crazy. Art is not something you can rush, well you can, but you will end up with a bunch of bad pieces stored in your garage.

The point is that you should be patient and understanding with yourself; and don’t worry about time or other people’s opinions. It is your art and your life and you have all the time in the world to perfect it and create something truly great. The world doesn’t need more paintings; it needs more masterpieces.

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