Quote - No offense intended, but that's only good advice if you're doing the kind of art that you're hanging on your Mum's refrigerator. If you want to grow as an artist you have to do a lot more than  just have a good time doing what you feel like.

I humbly disagree with that.

So many people try to fit into a mold that they don't belong in and that results in image after image looking pretty much the same. I'm not just talking about images of that person, but also images when compared to other people's.  Trying to fit into a mold results in loss of identity and uniqueness.

I'd much rather see someone express themselves in their own fashion and create their own original pieces rather than to try and conform to what is considered the "norm" in an art class.

Get the basic idea of light and shadow and depth of perspective, and go and do your own thing.

Picasso studied art, in depth, yet he created some of the most "ugly" paintings IMHO, yet he had his own style, and that didn't always involve light / shadow or depth of perspective. One thing for sure, he wasn't sitting in his studio in front of a canvass wondering if anyone else would like his painting while he was making it. I'd venture a guess that the thought didn't even cross his mind.

"It is good to see ourselves as others see us. Try as we may, we are never
able to know ourselves fully as we are, especially the evil side of us.
This we can do only if we are not angry with our critics but will take in good
heart whatever they might have to say." - Ghandi