What Makes True Art
This is the third of a three-part story I originally wrote to welcome new subscribers to my newsletter.
In these letters, I share how I lost touch with art, what brought me back, and the deeper meaning I’ve found through my creative journey. If you’d like to receive thoughtful reflections like this directly in your inbox—along with behind-the-scenes updates, early previews of my work, and special offers—you’re warmly invited to join my newsletter.
I write each message with care, hoping it inspires and supports your own artistic path.
You can also explore the other parts of this story here.
I hope this final welcome message finds you well.
In my last message, I shared what made me lose my will to create—and how I returned to art.
Today, I want to share the last part of this story with you. And if you're just getting into (or getting back to) art, I hope it helps you avoid the unnecessary doubts I struggled with over the past two years.
Learning art is hard—but making this decision was easy. I still remember the moment it happened.
Reading time: approximately 5 minutes
A Simple Joke Changed Everything
I was just getting back into drawing, one sketch at a time, and consuming a lot of educational art videos.
During a conversation with a friend about drawing hands, we both agreed (and I’m sure you do too) that it’s one of the hardest things to draw. She laughed and asked, “But who has the dedication to draw the hundreds it takes to get good at it?”
That’s when it clicked for me: I do.
Hands drawn for Introduction to Inking in 2024.
I started watching a lot of YouTube content, buying books, and practicing. In April 2023, a few weeks after that conversation, I enrolled in a three-day academic drawing workshop to try out a local art school. I had considered evening classes there, but instead, in May, I joined New Masters Academy and began their structured curriculum.
In July, I published my first video on my current YouTube channel: I had decided to be an artist.
You can learn more about my experience through the videos I’ve made about New Masters Academy, as well as my Art Journals.
Learning the craft has taken far more time and effort than I imagined—and I’m far from done—but today I can finally say that I have the tools to express myself through art.
But finding what to express—that was a different story.
At the academic drawing workshop at Émile Cohl in 2023.
You Have Something to Say – Whether You Know It or Not
Early in my training, I heard a quote that stayed with me:
Art is a language. We can teach you the language, but what you want to say is up to you.
It’s a powerful metaphor. Just like with any language, we can’t express ideas we don’t yet have the words for. In art, our tools—skills, techniques, structure—are our vocabulary.
And far from restricting us, every technical skill we develop expands our ability to express something meaningful. That’s why learning the fundamentals has been so transformative for me.
But learning also takes humility—and often, we have to let go of parts of ourselves to grow.
With every class I took, I put aside the way I had been drawing to fully embrace the methods being taught. I focused so hard on learning that I stopped creating personal work.
At some point, I even wondered if it would come back—if I had anything to say at all.
Here’s what I wish someone had told me: you do. You already do. Ideas don’t come when you’re ready—they come when you make space for them.
Original designs for my 2026 calendar.
The moment I stopped drawing only for assignments and started studying the art I love, ideas began to return—enriched by the skill and knowledge I’d been building for the past two years.
Instead of waiting to “finish” the Drawing Foundations module, I could have nurtured my personal work alongside it.
Not knowing what you want to say doesn’t mean you have nothing to say. You don’t have to figure everything out before you begin.
Your voice, your style, your identity as an artist—these aren’t things you’re handed fully formed. They’re built, discovered, and shaped as you go.
Create With Authenticity
In my previous message, I mentioned struggling with social anxiety. At one point, I was unable to leave the house for months—and now I create content on YouTube.
At my lowest, I had a realisation that gave me a kind of confidence I carry with me everywhere.
For a long time, I was performing. I wore a mask, trying to live up to what I thought others expected of me—or what I expected from myself. I was constantly aware of what was “wrong” with me, of all the ways I was falling short.
Then I realised something: if people didn’t love me with the mask, that was a lost opportunity to be loved for who I truly am. And if they did love me with the mask, I’d have to keep pretending—forever.
I would rather be seen and misunderstood than stay hidden and unknown. There is strength in vulnerability—because once you accept yourself, there’s nothing left to hide.
The Little Prince puppet, sketched from life at the Gadagne museum.
We must be authentic, not because it’s the moral thing to do, but because we owe it to ourselves.
And it is the same with art.
If you don’t yet know what you want to create with your art, face the unknown, embrace it. You don’t need to have it all figured out, no one does. Don’t pretend to be another artist. Become the artist only you can be.
It takes humility to study, courage to create with authenticity, and a lifetime to craft a masterpiece. But this is precisely what makes art so valuable, as an object and a pursuit.
What to Expect From Me
Thank you for reading this far—I’ve poured my heart into these messages, and I truly hope they’ve resonated with you and offered something meaningful.
From now on, I’ll send you monthly updates with exclusive previews of my current projects, latest videos and creative insights.
I’ll also send early access and special offers for new products as a thank-you for being here—so stay tuned. And if you ever want to share your own creative thoughts, I would love to read them.
I wish you all the best, and as always,
Stay creative,
Julie
