Here's 10 important questions to ask yourself as an artist. Thanks to Imaginism on deviantart.

'Here's 10 important questions to ask yourself. Read them constantly as a checklist to make sure your are heading in the right direction and using your artistic potential.

1. What motivates you to create art? Write down your answer and think about how you can use this very important information.

2. What kinds of information have you been putting on the internet? The internet is the new resume. If I can find dumb pics or comments from you then other people can too...

3. Does your art express something interesting? Great art means something to its viewers, not just its creator.

4. Does failure push you forward? How you deal with failure will determine how skillfull you will become.

5. Do you enjoy arguing or flaming people's work? If you are the type of person to hate on others, it will come back to you. Especially with the internet and all the social networking.

6. Do you try out new methods/materials/subjects that might be unconfortable at first? Success is inevitable if you always choose to believe "It is my obligation to try."

7. Do you have a strong purpose or goal? When you have a purpose, you stand by it. Something special happens when you show an undying drive to achieve a goal.

8. Are you open to meeting new people and hearing others opinions with an open mind? Your heart & mind are the gates to success & happiness. Keep them open or miss out on great opportunities.

9. You can either let your environment shape you or choose YOURSELF to be who you want to be. The body & mind can be shaped into almost any type of person you wish to be. You just have to train it through persistence & constant search for knowledge. (*I started to be "good" in art when I decided to be extremely serious about it.) What kind of person do you want to be?

10.Do you constantly think about your goals? The best way to accomplish a goal is to have it on your mind all the time. Keep thinking about it until you obtain your goal. I'm not the first to say this one but I can't emphasize it enough.

I think it's important to mention that I don't believe I been given any natural talent when it comes to art, I believe I'm PERSISTENT. Anyone can be persistent.'

Thanks, Imaginism! I am not so motivated atm, and failure makes me stop. I need to work on that. I agree with your last aside, I also believe that skill in art can be gained through persistence.

Anyone who wants to be more creative, try things out. Paint eggs, make a potato stamp, do watercolours. Do whatever makes you feel satisfied. Even if it is only small.
If you want to do more serious stuff, take a class or look up on youtube (so many how-tos on there) and try it out. You haven't much to lose. And many people refuse to try to let out their artistic side because they think it's a waste of time.

But it is part of your humanity to like creative things. And also to like doing them. I find my paintings are more alive to me when I am in the act of painting them. Once dry, it feels as if they are asleep or dead. I get the most satisfaction out of the act of being creative.

I don't agree that art is for the viewer as much as it is for the creator. To me, a piece of artwork is the creator's and final say on its interpretation belongs to the creator. But enough about that. Gotta go. Might draw something...

Have a good day. :)