“Perfectionism is a creativity killer and a brick wall to any progress as an artist.”
This morning, I woke up thinking about my progress as an artist over the years. Throughout the years that I have been creating art, there has been a track record of steady improvement. This improvement required diligence, hard work, creating bad art and good art, and a correct mindset for improving as an artist.
Many artists struggle with perfectionism. I admit I did as well years ago. Perfectionism, in my opinion, is like sinking in quicksand. There is no way out. It is overwhelming because perfectionism is unachievable. It is hard to define, and the definition always seems to be a moving target. I believe that perfectionism removes the heart and soul from a piece of art.
With social media, you can find many artists whose work seems perfect. It looks exactly like a photograph. Hyper photo-realism. My question is, what is the point of that? To prove you can do it? In those instances, it seems that imagination is lacking because creativity is so much more than just replicating a photo perfectly. Although the artist’s technical skill may be top-notch, these pieces of art that appear ‘perfect’ tend to lack a spark, or heart and soul in my opinion.
With my pet portraits, my goal has always been to make each portrait look like a painting. Is each portrait technically perfect? An exact copy of a photograph? No, I don’t think so. Not even close. Perfectly reproducing a photo with my paintings has never been the goal. What I do focus on is capturing each animal’s unique spirit and personality. My ability to capture that special spark with each pet portrait is what makes my work so appealing.
The very first pet portrait I painted.
“Steve”, 18 x 18 in., Oil on Canvas, 2014.
My most challenging pet portrait painting.
“Rufus”, 18 x 18 in., Oil on Canvas, 2019.
If you are an artist, just beginning, I have some advice for you! Just keep improving. Just keep creating. Some art is going to be great, some terrible. Just keep improving. Throw out the perfectionism mindset. It will get you nowhere. I discovered and watched my unique ‘voice’ blossom as an artist when I abandoned the perfectionist mindset.
Renew your mindset. Focus on improvement, not perfection. Have fun. Creativity is supposed to be fun. There is freedom in creativity when your goal is improving. Don’t get discouraged. Keep at it.
Looking at my pet portraits today, what you do not see are the years of practice, re-mixing paint because I did not mix the right color the first time, wiping off the canvas to work on a specific section again. The frustration of not getting it right, and stepping away for a while, taking a break so I can tackle it again fresh.
Growing into an artist with your unique ‘voice’ is a journey. Pack your bag, get your hiking boots on and hit the trail, with a focus on improvement.
Just keep improving.
