How Long Does it Take to Become a Good Artist?

I've been told my entire life that comparing myself to others is a waste of time, and so have you.

At some level you see the truth. You have a certain set of genes. You were raised in a certain place by a particular family. Did you choose your neighbors? Or your appearance? Or the place of your birth? Of course not.

In my fits of pique I whine that I'm not a prodigy or a genius. A genius would have picked up this art business waaay faster. He would be out there making cool stuff instead of strapped to a drawing table making crap.

All this makes me wonder, "How long is it supposed to take to become a great artist?"

Yes, there are prodigies. But prodigies don't spring from the womb with their skills in place. Rather, prodigies exhibit an obsessiveness with their particular art that compels them to work work work work work. If you were obsessed with your art as much as Picasso with his, or Mozart with his, you would find yourself massively skilled in a relatively short amount of time.

Malcolm Gladwell suggests, based on a study by Anders Ericsson, that becoming great takes about 10,000 hours of deliberate practice, which is equivalent to 20 hours a week for 10 years.

That's a lot of work.

Regardless of whether you need 10,000 hours of practice, the point is that becoming great takes a lot of effort over a long period of time. If you're obsessed you'll practice more often and learn faster, and vice versa.

The takeaway is this:

Becoming a great artist takes as long as it takes. Getting angry about the process only slows it down.

There isn't an easy path, only the grind.  You might as well learn to love it.