Combating Perfectionism in Art
Jun 16, 2010 Art General
The folks over at theArtistsWhoTHRIVE Blog posted a great article a little while ago: Perfectionism Kills Creativity. If you receive my newsletter, you will have already seen it. If not, I suggest you read it!
This short but informative article suggests that quantity is more important than quality in an art practice, a sentiment I happen to agree with.
When it comes to art, quality follows quantity. That is, by producing lots of work, experimenting, trying new things and allowing yourself to make mistakes, you will inevitably improve your skills. If you’re bogged down with details, obsessed with perfectionism, you limit your own creativity.
Your job as an artist is not to produce good art, it’s to produce lots of art. By producing lots of art, you will thereby produce good art!
Okay, it’s a bit much to wrap your mind around, but once you do, it’s very liberating! Let me give you an example:
I am a huge perfectionist, a characteristic that is evident in my portrait work. Throughout the first three years of art school, I really struggled with my need to create perfect images. I was criticized for it and questioned my own creativity. It wasn’t until my fourth year that I was able to set aside my perfectionism and start producing a larger volume of work. That’s when my creativity really flourished and the ideas started flowing like crazy!
So how do we leave perfectionism behind and embrace our true creative natures? Well, it wasn’t easy for me and it probably won’t be easy for you!
For most people, perfectionism isn’t a switch in the brain that can just be turned off. You will likely need to implement strategies that help you subvert your natural tendencies. For me, this was a systematic destruction of my own creations. Because I knew that I would be destroying my work eventually, it didn’t matter anymore if it wasn’t perfect. This allowed me to make mistakes and work more quickly without trying to plan the end result.
So, what are some ways you can stop being a perfectionist? Here are a few ideas that I came up with.
Practical Ways to Subvert Perfectionism in Art
1. Paint with an extra large brush. Don’t allow yourself a small brush to paint details. Force yourself to contend with a too-large tool and simplify shapes.
2. Don’t use an eraser. Whatever you do, whatever mistakes you make, no erasers! Either live with the mistake, or find a way to fix it by continuing to draw.
3. Give yourself permission to make mistakes. Not in a vague and abstract sense, but in a concrete sense. State to yourself that you will make (and not correct) three mistakes in your next piece.
4. Make up rules that get in the way of your usual process. For example, you could decide that after completing the first parts of a painting, you will outline everything in bright orange. This gives you another element to contend with and will keep you from getting caught up in details too early.
5. Go big. Technical drawers (like myself) tend to work on smaller pieces and stay tightly focused on the subject. We use small tools and small actions to draw. Break away from this mindset by using a large piece of paper and drawing with big, expressive gestures.
6. Paint or draw without looking at your work. Do this in the beginning to get a looser feeling, then challenge yourself to make it work.
7. Try it “en plein air.” Take your easel outside and work from nature. This forces you to work faster and looser, and to simplify many of the details that are visible.
8. Give yourself a time limit. Gesture drawings are great for this. Challenge yourself to capture the essense of a subject in thirty seconds, one minute, or five minutes.
By using these and other strategies, you can begin to let go of any perfectionism that may be holding you back. When you don’t stress over every little detail in every little piece, you free up a lot of time to make more art.
Perfectionism on the Web
Perfectionism seems to be a hot topic among artists right now. Check out Itaya’s blog and Kirsty Hall’s blog for more thoughts and discussion on the topic of perfectionism.
Share!
What are your thoughts of and experiences with perfectionism? What are some strategies that you use to keep from stressing over details?
Tags: art, artists, Creativity, perfectionism
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