My son draws pictures. He puts pencil to paper and in a few minutes has a drawing that he’s proud of. Colouring in might take a few minutes more, but then we’re done and we move onto the next picture.
Like me, he’ll one day want to draw something that resembles what he has in his mind’s eye and he’ll grab the pencil, scribble, colour in the image in a few strokes and then be disappointed that the picture doesn’t look as he’d wanted it to.
It took me almost thirty years to learn the lesson that making anything that you’re proud of takes time. It takes time in the execution of whatever it is you’re wanting to make. And before that it takes time to learn how to make the thing you want to make.
My son draws, but if he wants to get good at drawing, he’s going to have to spend hours learning the craft and improving his skill. And once he has a modicum of skill and a reasonable understanding of the craft he might want to take on making art.
If you want to make a contribution, art demands your time.
To get good at something you need to persevere through the phase where you don’t know anything and everything you attempt is rubbish. If you work and learn, you’ll eventually come to a place where you might make something you sort of like.
This is the point when you actually start doing the thing – drawing, painting, making music, writing, whatever it is. And then you learn how to make the thing as only you can. Many call this ‘finding your voice’.
For some this can take a lifetime.
Art is patience.