I asked and you answered! What quite a few of you came back with were lots of issues with perfectionism. What we are going to cover today is how you can combat that in your art.
Samantha responded that perfectionism is one of her biggest issues. Kimberly also said that she gets stuck in this internal dialogue where she is sitting there unable to get into the flow state.
This is something that I struggle with to this day! This is so normal! It sounds like a problem with being super self-critical and really just struggling to be confident in what she is doing and to ultimately, enjoy the process of creating something from start to finish.
I have good news for you! Art is a skill. Many people will say
"You are so talented, you are so good at this, dah-deh, dah-deh, dah-deh-dah…"
But, just like with athletes, just like with going to school, art is something to be learned! Practice, practice, practice. When you are learning, it's important to remember that it's QUANTITY over quality!
This is especially important to remember when you are trying to push through something like perfectionism, when it does stop you from making a complete product. When it does stop you from getting past the first few brush strokes. Basically, it’s a manifestation of self-doubt and you are sitting there questioning yourself.
One of the biggest things that I’m going to recommend you guys do is go to a class! Go to a class or watch a tutorial. And follow it, if you’re really struggling to even complete something, follow it from start to finish. It’s ok if it’s not perfect, it’s ok if your painting doesn't end up the same as the instructors or the person sitting next to you. Just follow along, get yourself comfortable with the tools.
Get your hand-eye coordination really ready and able to be in sync. It’s the same thing with typing on a keyboard, your fingers will automatically get used to all this stuff and the muscle memory of the movement will get in sync and you will then know what letter you are typing with the movement. It’s the same thing with drawing tablets, it’s a little disconcerting at first when you’re learning how to use them.
As with anything, practice, practice, practice, just keep doing it. Don’t worry about the end goal, especially if you’re struggling with perfectionism, that’s the one thing that just needs to go out. You just need to say “Quantity, quantity, quantity.”
You can also do one of those 30 Day Challenges, which can help facilitate the quantity. Where every single day you just spend 10 minutes and you draw a picture, or you just spend an hour and you paint a small painting.
It’s better if you work on a smaller scale when you're struggling. Having a bigger canvas is going to make it a little bit more difficult to have that hand-eye coordination, and it takes longer to fill in the area. You’re not going to have to step back as far to look at the whole thing.
One thing that i tell people to do is to take a step back from their canvas, because, when you have your face in it the whole time, and that’s all you’re staring at is that one spot and you keep getting closer and closer.
Well, nobody’s going to view it from that close. People are going to take a step back. They are going to be like 3 feet, 5 feet away, depending on how big the piece of artwork is.
So, it’s really just one of those things where it’s a mind game. Basically, just look at how you acquire a new skill. And then just follow that type of mentality for how you’re supposed to acquire the skill. But anyway, I’m going down a bit of a rabbit hole, here…
It’s really important to not compare yourself to other artists. It’s really important to just compare yourself to where you were last month, last year, (the) last 5 years.
I’m definitely guilty of throwing away art that i didn’t like and wasn’t proud of. But the thing that sucks about that is that you really don’t have as much to compare to as far as how far you progressed. It’s really cool to keep sketchbooks and art that you aren't proud of. That way you can look back, sometimes you’ll laugh, sometimes you’ll be rolling your eyes, but you don’t have to share it with anybody! Keep it for yourself. That will be really helpful for you, too!
It’s ok to be a beginner. It’s ok to not be where you want. The only way through this crap, you know, making the crap art, is to keep making it. And then you’ll just better. Remember, it's a skill.
If you have tried any of these suggestions, please let me know how the experience was for you in the comments below. If you have questions, comment below, share this post with a friend, and check out the YouTube Live Stream of this blog post!
I also would like to know, in what ways does perfectionism stop you from being creative? If you don’t struggle with perfectionism, I’d like to know what your biggest struggle with art is. So please, join me again next Tuesday!
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