FOR THE ARTIST WHO WALKED AWAY

Okay to Quit. But also Okay to Come Back.

Author

Josh Hernandez
August 25, 2025

If you haven’t made anything in a while, this one’s for you.

I stopped painting once. I thought maybe I wasn’t really an artist.

I tried fitting into someone else’s version of what “real” art looked like: Clean. Technical. Respectable. And I hated it.

I wasn’t creating, I was performing. And I quit.

But that space, that silence, eventually gave me clarity. I stopped making what I thought I should. I started making what I actually felt. What was weird, personal, raw. And that’s when I found my voice.

If you’ve stepped away from art because life got in the way, or the doubt got too loud, or someone made you feel like you weren’t good enough, just remember:

  • Stop Performing. Drop the “should’s.” Quit making art for approval and let silence do its work

  • Get Messy. Make what you actually feel - chaotic, raw, personal. That’s where your real voice lives.

  • Release. You’re not blocked, you’re building pressure. Let it out. No masterpiece required, just movement.

OFFICIALLY ONE WEEK OUT!

Mark it down: September 1. The Mad Essentials Art Kit finally hits

Counting down the days? Same here. Kill the wait and shred some canvases with my course. Warm-up rounds before the real fight begins.

Stay soft, stay savage,
- The MAD Team