It’s not the fanciest brush that will make you a better artist.

It’s not the most expensive tube of paint.

Or the most cottony paper.

The prettiest sketchbook.

Or The Very Best pencil.

What will make you a better (and more confident) artist is time.

Persistence.

Bravery.

If you’ve got a studio filled with the best and most expensive art materials but you only spend 10 minutes a month making art, you won’t get the results promised by that big money drop.

If your “studio” is the corner of a dining room table covered in abandoned Amazon boxes, your kid’s lost homework, three missing mate winter gloves, and a stack of just folded dish towels and your art supplies are a five-dollar sketchbook and a borrowed box of Crayola markers BUT you spend 10 minutes a day making art, your artistic confidence will bloom much faster.

Making time for art makes the difference. Being persistent in your art practice, even when you’re on a “bad” art tear, makes the difference. Being brave enough to show up and make messes will, over time, bridge the gap between the art you want to make and the art you’re capable of making right now.

In the beginning, time spent making art is more important than the quality of your art supplies.

Art materials matter. Eventually.

Start with what you’ve got. Get fancier as you feel more confident.

When I started making art again in my 20s, I doodled in regular old notebooks with a ballpoint pen. After a couple of years of filling up notebooks with ballpoint pen doodles, I felt curious about painting so I bought a cheap watercolor set, cheap brushes, and some cheap watercolor paper. As my confidence and skill grew over the years, I invested in better supplies.

Now, two decades later, I use a mix of fancy and cheap art supplies. I’ve had years of experience learning and understanding where to splurge and where to save (and that’s different for every artist!). You’ll figure out what works for you too.

For now, start with what you’ve got and don’t let the internet goblins convince you that you must invest every single one of your hard-earned dollars in the fanciest schmanciest art supplies.

You’ll learn so much from starting with what you’ve got, from pushing the limitations of ‘maybe not the best’ or ‘maybe the ideal for this project’ supplies.

Limitations so often lead to innovations.

Sometimes limitations also lead to a hard stop, to a moment of knowing you can’t make the art you want to make with the tools you’ve got. When that happens, slowly add in better paints or better paper or better markers or better whatever art tool you love the most.

Then continue to show up. Make some messes with those new supplies. Push the limits of those new supplies. Use them in your own way, not worrying about the “right” way. There’s no right way to make art.

Continue to put in the time. Be persistent in your art practice. Be brave. Watch your art confidence and skill blossom.