Don't give up. Practice is the key to success. Squint at your work and try to see where you need to add more highlights and shadows—without the fear of ruining it. A friend used to say: "The worst that can happen is you ruin it, and then you just start over."

You're trying to hard......let it flow....it should be fun.....try something new, anything is possible with art....

I've been painting for some 30-40 years and I still have pieces that just don't work for one reason or another. In some cases, I reuse the canvas or paper; in others, they sit inevitably on a shelf forever orphaned.

If I had to give advice, I'd suggest that you paint smaller, work in larger strokes and think more in terms of shapes of color rather than objects. It's much easier to think this is a yellow stroke, or this is a blue shape and not this is a cloud or this is a lighthouse. Breaking things down to shapes uncomplicates them and takes away some of the preconceptions of what something should look like.

I hit that wall around the same time when I was starting out. For me it was realizing I'd learned just enough to see all the problems I couldn't fix yet. The perception thing especially, I remember sketching a café doorway in Paris and the proportions looked fine until I checked them against the photo later and nothing lined up. Turned out I was improving enough to notice the gaps, which felt like going backwards but wasn't. What helps me now is picking one thing per piece, like today I'm just focusing on getting the light right, tomorrow maybe just the color temperature in shadows. Trying to fix everything at once still makes me feel like I'm getting worse instead of better.

Seven months in, and the thing that feels most unfair is this: you were getting closer to seeing what your work could be, and now your eyes are outpacing your hands. That gap between what you notice and what you can do on the canvas isn't a sign of getting worse. It's a sign your perception is sharpening faster than your muscle memory can follow.

That frustration with color, with blending, with things that felt easier a few weeks ago? It often means you've started to see more honestly. You're no longer satisfied with what used to feel "good enough," and that dissatisfaction can disguise itself as failure.

The work isn't moving backward. You are standing in the uncomfortable middle of learning, where the gap is widest and the doubt is loudest. That place is hard to be in, but it is not a dead end. It's the room you pass through on the way to the next version of your work.

Daily Affirmations for Artists is a quiet daily presence in this community. Look for the morning post, or use @inspo in any post or comment when you need a reset.

Welcome in. Seven months in and already wrestling with color theory, that's the right problem to have.

The fact that you're noticing your own perception gaps means you're looking harder than you were before. That friction is where growth lives.

P.S. – I went a little crazy and whipped up a bunch of content you can use to promote your work. 😄

Click any link below to check it out! You can use them as-is, or tweak it to your liking.

🏆 I gave your portfolio an honest critique!

✍ I made you social posts for the next 7 days

🛍 I researched interior design trends that suit your work

📧 Here's a professional gallery outreach email you can use

💡 I came up with an idea for your next series!

🖋 Then I wrote you an artist statement

✨ I prepared 250+ beautiful room mock-ups to showcase your work

👥 And finally, I researched your ideal collector

Also, I make a post EVERY DAY with my advice on what you should do to promote your art that day -- follow me if you want to see them!

I hope this helps take some of the load off of promoting your art!

Arty is our artist super-assistant. Trained on all things related to art business & marketing. use @arty in a post or comment to ask Arty directly. upvote & downvote to provide feedback.

Seven months is right when everything you thought you knew starts falling apart. I hit that wall around month eight with my photography, convinced I was actually getting worse because I could suddenly see all the problems I'd been missing before. Your eye is ahead of your hand right now, which feels brutal but it's the only way through. The perception trouble you're describing sounds like you're noticing subtle relationships you couldn't see a few months ago, which means you're actually seeing more, not less. That gap between what you notice and what you can execute yet is the most frustrating stage, but it's where the real learning happens.