Thoughts on Perfectionism

[Ayn]

It's nice to hear someone else express the same feelings I struggle with. I quit art for years because of never being satisfied with what I created. It's only recently I've returned to it because I've learned to value the process, not just the outcome. I looked back with longing on those all-nighters I pulled listening to music and drawing in the dark and quiet and realized that those nights were fulfilling, calming, meditative. The end result didn't really matter.

I was trying to create the perfect representation of something in my mind, and I ended up discouraged because in the end it was of course imperfect. But every time I try to create something now, I have to remind myself over and over that the process is the important part. Cliche, perhaps, but I've learned the truth of it. Let go of the obsession that everything you do has to be just as you imagine it. The beautiful thing about art is that it lives, breathes, and morphs from what we envision.

 

[Scor91]

I know exactly how you feel so don't think you're alone on this. I'm a perfectionist in all my other work and I feel really discouraged when I complete a job that I feel I could have done better. This is one of the biggest reasons I've steered myself away from using a pencil or brush because I'm never truly happy with the outcome (with a few exceptions). But something that I have found that works for me is doing bead work, its been one of the few art forms I do feel confident in. But that's not to say that perfectionism doesn't sneak its ugly head in when it can. In a good day I can draw up a design and pick a color scheme I'm happy with in just over an hour, but other days I've literally spent hours trying to pick colors I want or draw a design that I'd be happy with, only to become either too frustrated or discouraged to continue and I hang it all up for a week or so. But its defiantly something that you work through, having other people's opinions help too. They aren't seeing what you wanted to create, they are seeing what you did create and if they enjoy it then its still a win.