I Am An Artist

I am an artist

But… What does that mean exactly?

To some it may mean huge paintings displayed in museums

Deep meaningful poems that unlock the secrets to the universe 

Impactful movies that inspire the world of tomorrow 

And In some cases, yes but that's just…

I don’t know, assuming that that is the standard for every artist is just… tiering 

Having to explain to people that no… no that’s not what I do… I just do whatever I feel like in the moment and most of it doesn’t even get seen

And then…

You’re thrown to the side 

With comments of “oh? You draw? You write?? Weirdo” or maybe I’m being compared to bigger better artists that have been in this job since… well since they were born 

Or maybe it’s not what society deems appropriate and acceptable 

And it’s deteriorating 

I feel like my work is never good enough 

Never big enough 

Never eye catching enough 

Never perfect enough 

Just never worth the time in others eyes

Hell, even this slam poem I’m reading to you isn’t good enough 

I could pour my whole soul and being into a piece of work and be so extremely proud of it for once 

Admire how I shaded this eye

Or how I carefully crafted my words

And when it’s finished with a final step back, it’s not good enough 

Because of the standards given

If it isn’t perfect the first try, then why even try?

I believe every artist sees themselves as not good enough with their work because there’s always someone out there that’s so called “better”

There’s always a comparison between what people consider art and what it actually is

Let me paint you an example 

Say there’s a cheerleader and this cheerleader wants to be better at their craft

Well, they’re going to train and practice and learn 

Then they will follow the routine given and get scored on certain tricks

If the scores low, they train harder

Artists… we don’t have a list of tricks to get scored on

It’s all up to opinion and thought and what society has deemed as art

You can’t get a job in this art world without following the thoughts and opinions of others 

You can’t fully enjoy the art you make without being thrown inside of box of drawing breathtaking landscapes or writing coherent novels with the most basic cookie cutter characters 

It’s not okay

People need to understand that no one can be good or bad at art

It’s just art

Art is coloured lines on a page 

Art is a few words put together 

Art is a tune that flows 

It can’t be defined or described 

It just… is

Art will always be based on opinions and feelings but it’s so important to understand that just because someone can’t draw realistically or write something that changes your worldview that doesn’t mean it’s not good

We need to appreciate and understand the many different people behind the paintbrush or pen 

We need to know that each artist isn’t your stereotypical white old man from the renaissance drawing Jesus Christ for god's sake

Don’t even get me started on AI art

Art is a feeling

Artists are people 

Art is everywhere

So I will say it again

I am an artist

And that means I’ll do what I want