It's true, you know.
A good artist can use just about any tool and still make good art.
Really. Truly.
I used to be obsessed with trying to get the best and most professional materials I could find. I was obsessed because I didn't want the finished works I made to fall apart due to lack of material quality. or fade away to nothingness because I used materials that weren't acid free. I was obsessed with all of this, and not obsessed enough with the process of actually making art.
I was reading a bit from comic book artist Bryan Hitch's book Ultimate Comics Studio, and he tells a similar tale. He talks about how people become obsessed with obtaining the proper materials, as if the pencils or the paper will suddenly make them a great artist. People at conventions would ask him repeatedly what materials he used, to the point of irritation. He started to tell them that he uses a discontinued brand of pencil, or that he used these rare pens that were sold by a roving art store that would set up shop on a corner in a shady part of town once or twice a year. Obviously, this was not true, but the people who were asking didn't pick up on the greater truth here. The materials do not make you a better artist. Not at all. They can't.
Great art comes with discipline, patience, and self-examination. We can only grow as artists if we push ourselves, if we are self-critiquing, willing to learn from others, are humble to accept criticism, and relentlessly devoted to our work. That is it.
So, Chase is right. The materials only help a good artist achieve their vision more easily. Some materials are cheap and fall apart, and good materials don't do so as readily. Other than that, the true quality of the work lies within you.
Show me what you've got.
Caleb