I’ve received a lot of letters from artists asking to check out their artwork and their blog, and I’ve noticed that a lot of them openly write unhealthy amounts of negative comments about their artwork, it was super depressing, honestly. :( Confidence plays a very very important role as an artist, it’s what helps us learn and grow without the constant feeling of doubt and jealousy! You are a unique individual who must go down your own unique path, and as scary as it sounds, you can’t rely on others to hold your hand all the way through. You are the only one who can get yourself to where you need to go, and beating up your artwork is not the way! Trust yourself and your abilities to make a change, and you can do anything!!
“I’m different than other people. I’m never sad. I make my life happy through discipline. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, and I eat lots of fiber. Every day I take a walk in the park to think about my balance. I’ve been a chef, a fashion designer, a painter, and now I’m learning martial arts. I do Tai Chi in the park every morning. It helps give me energy for my painting. I have already learned forty-two moves. I’m ahead of everyone. I’m almost eighty years old, but all the women in my group think I’m in my fifties.”
He had schizophrenia. He didn’t recognize her. She did everything she could to connect with him, but he refused treatment, medication, food, or new clothing.
Eventually, he said to her: “Diana, I am so sorry for not being in your life. I am so happy that you have a family of your own now. Do better for them…
… Don’t worry about me or what everyone says about me. If you want to make me proud and happy, be there for your family the way your mom and I never were. Stop trying to save everyone…just worry about yourself and your family. And don’t forget why I named you Diana, you are the light within the darkness.” So she refused to give up.
After suffering a heart attack, he agreed to get help and slowly took control of his own life.
One day he suddenly called her to invite her out for coffee. Later that afternoon, she wrote on her blog: “I feel like I just met my father for the first time today.”
“I struggled to reconcile my feelings toward my father’s absence in my life, while continuing to care deeply for him and other homeless individuals.”
“Over time, I learned to navigate through my feelings of desperation and became more vocal in my community about my father’s condition and what it’s like to watch a loved one battle mental illness.”
He is now doing very well, and they are rebuilding their relationship from the ground up. “So long as we are alive in this world, every day is an opportunity to take hold of that ‘second chance.’ There is no failure unless you give up, and he never gave up. And I haven’t given up on him.”
I made a tutorial about mixing colors when painting! It’s really long and rambly and probably repeats itself a lot, but maybe it’ll be helpful to somebody. It’s intended for people who already have a basic understanding of color theory, so I might recommend this tutorial by gawki if you don’t already know the basics.