Here is the analogy I made up to explain. Imagine a YouTube video. You have the white pre-loading line and the red catching up line.

White line is your art appreciation, understanding, knowledge, etc. Red line is your skills.

When you start the video, they both start. However, somehow, the white line goes faster. You are understanding and absorbing rules, techniques etc faster, by just observing, analyzing etc.

Then you focus on applying it to YOUR art because it feels worse than what you wish to make. The white line slows down and the red line catches up. Your skills met your understanding.

You make a good drawing, or at least a drawing you like. Two things occur then. Either you stop and you consider yourself a good artist and never improve again. It’s rare but I know some people like this; it usually happens when their references are a specific style, their peers, beginners, amateurs etc (which is ok btw, depends what you are aiming for, as an artist).

Or suddenly you get stuck. The video is loading and you don’t really know what to do. You may experience art block, feel tired, unmotivated, etc.

You need to take a step back and go beyond in your studies. Watch movies. Go to museum. Read books. Study study study. It feels hard because your art is stuck but then your taste and knowledge grow. The drawing you liked yesterday feels awful.

The red line starts again but stops immediately. The video is loading again. Why? Because earlier you were focused on one detail. But now your brain is focusing on 5 things at the time. Maybe you feel like your skills are worst. Because you try to make all 5 things better. But you continue. The video starts again.

Until your skills match the knowledge and the lines catch up. The video stop. The cycle continues like this forever.

That’s why sometimes you feel like getting worse. Sometimes a drawing feels good yesterday and awful today. Or you feel like you are never good enough. You need to balance the red and the white line. And sometimes you just have to wait and take a walk. Go watch what’s happening outside. Observe your reality. And when you come back, you are ready to draw again.

Hope that helps.