Don't Give Up.

Name me a famous artist that gave up and decided not to continue with their art. That encountered a roadblock in their life and decided that this was the end. That there was no point going on because they were getting told by people time and again that they weren't any good.

Give up? That's because they are none.

All artists face criticism, as that is the nature of art itself. Art's value and worth is in the eye of the beholder, and sometimes those eyes will glare and sneer at it. Those eyes will judge the work as inferior or crap, as something that's worth dismissing as nothing more then trash found on the side of the street.

But that doesn't mean you have to give up.

No one has the right to tell you you can't be creative. Anyone who does is wrong. Pure and simple. No one can pry the brush from your hands, the words from your page, the recording out of your camera. No one can tell you that you can't make art because they don't want to see it. Because you don't make art for them, not really.

All artists, first and foremost, make art for themselves.

You make art because you have something to say about the world, about the things found within it. You have an opinion on it and damn it you're going to express it any way you care too. A painting, a poem, an online video review. It doesn't matter what it is, the point is that you made it. That it's yours. And no one can take it away from you.

But that doesn't automatically mean that it gets displayed in a museum.

A child's drawing isn't going to be placed next to the Mona Lisa. An amateur's first draft isn't going to be printed in the New Yorker. An online video-hosting site isn't going to take any old video review in a market drowning with shows like it. They're only going to be taking the best, the cream of the crop, the piece de la resistance.

So make good art.

Draw a masterpiece, write an epic, make a review show that rivals that of the best. Don't take one failure as the end of the world. Don't have someone tell you that you can't do something. Sure perhaps you can't write, or draw, or make good videos. Guess what: No one is born a master artist. Oh sure there's innate talent, but talent alone isn't good enough. There are millions of talented people doomed to obscurity because they don't choose to use those talents, but rather hide them for fear.

Don't be one of those people.

Don't be content with your work, improve. Get better. Always be critical, asking yourself 'How can I make this better? What can be improved on?' Don't take what you have for granted, improve on it. Make it bigger, bolder, better. Don't get stuck in a rut, rise above it. Don't get held back by those that say you suck. Focus instead on how you can be better. Don't focus solely on your successes or your failures. Instead take both in equal measure and learn how you can get better from them.

Don't give up. The world needs more artists. We will always need artists.

And even if everyone is telling you no, even if everyone is telling you to shut up, even if everyone is telling you that you'll never amount to anything and you're foolish for even trying.

Don't give up.

Prove them wrong.