Art’s Greatest Challenge.

Jan 1

We know what it’s like to feel like your art is never “good enough.”

In fact, this frustration is by far the most common struggle among budding artists.
We’re referring to -

🫠 Perfectionism.

Perfectionism can transmogrify the exciting opportunity of a blank page into an overwhelming source of anxiety. It reduces confidence, stifles creativity & might even cause us to conflate making “bad” art with being a “bad” artist.

Fortunately, perfectionism is a habit which may be unlearned.

▸ We’d like to offer you 4 effective solutions:

Output Ratio.

If you’ve only completed 9 drawings in your life, your next one represents 10% of your total body of work. Talk about pressure!

But as you create more, each new drawing becomes a smaller fraction of the whole. Now after you’ve made 9,999 sketches, one more is not such a big deal.

World does not implode, confidence increases - repeat!

Eventually, mistakes cease to feel catastrophic & you begin to understand them for what they are: essential stepping stones to improvement 💪

(That’s 10,000 boxes - we checked)

Progress Transparency.

Social media is often a dangerously false confection of what artistic progress looks like. The curation of content normalizes perfection & hides the messy, imperfect reality of growth.

In a community, the creative journey becomes visible. We watch our peers struggle, experiment, & gradually improve. Their mistakes remind us that we’re not alone - & that every “failure” is a step toward mastery.

Beginner’s Mind.

Nobody paints a Sistine Chapel in a day.

If you set your expectations beyond the ceiling, you might only be setting yourself up for frustration. If you can’t draw a portrait yet, that’s alright; begin with just the nose, or a sphere, or perhaps a simple circle.

Mastery takes time, & should be measured not drawing by drawing - but month by month & year by year.

As the painter of the Sistine Chapel once said -

“If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful at all.”

- Michelangelo

The Myth of Perfection.

Finally, accept that perfection is, for at least us mere mortals, an unattainable illusion. Artists have been creating for thousands of years, & not one has yet produced a perfect piece.

When we realize that we will always fall short of perfection, we are liberated & the journey remains ✨