All Art is Good Art
Originally published June 27, 2025
I’ve known one of my close friends Juliana, a.k.a JJ, for about three years now. We have a lot of the same interests and in particular, we both like to craft. JJ is an experienced artist and has been for a long time. I just like doing stuff. So, one of our main hang out activities is a craft night. We get together and paint or draw or make tee shirts to wear to our favorite dive bar, which going to is our most favorite hang out activity.
One of our craft nights came before one of our dive bar nights. It was early on in our friendship, and we were painting smallish canvases. JJ painted the prettiest fruits with the most details faces and it still hangs in my room back in my parents house- it’s truly well done. Something struck in me this night, and I painted in big bubble letters across the canvas “make bad art.” I pull jean squares out of my scrap fabric bin and glued them down. I painted stars and smiley faces. I used clashing colors and coordinating colors. I just did whatever I felt like doing. It was freeing, it was me, and it was art. That one also hangs in my old bedroom.
Ever since then, it’s been my little phrase, something I think about a lot. I keep it in my back pocket like I keep my phone or my harmonica. It keeps me creative, encouraged, inspired.
I recently painted three pictures based on things I saw on Pinterest- some drawings I saw and thought would look cute in my room. I didn’t think much of it. I was creating just to create after all, which is what my little phrase means to me. Anyway, so I made a TikTok showing my three paintings and I captioned it “make bad art” as I do, of course. And my darling creative friend JJ commented and she said, “all art is good art” and it got me THINKING. It’s two sides of the same coin, what I say and what she said: just go make art. It doesn’t matter the result or the texture or the worth or the likability. It just matters that you made it. That’s literally it. If you make it, it’s good. All art is good art. Don’t be afraid to make something bad, because anything you make is inherently good. Bad art is good art and good art is bad art and bad art is inevitable and good art is inevitable and bad art isn’t real. All art is good art. Write a poem and it’ll be poetic. Write a song and it’ll be melodic. Paint a picture and it’ll be genius. Choreograph a dance and it’ll be electric. Draw a drawing and it’ll be daring. Make something, literally anything, and know that it’s good. But don’t worry that it has to be. It doesn’t have to be, but it will be, because you made it.
With love, Willianny
