Perfection Doesn’t Exist

It’s All an Illlusion

Time and again I’ll hear someone say that they wish they could draw. So draw, I say. Unfortunately, the vast majority won’t. In all my years, I’ve only had one person actually start drawing with a little basic instruction. It wasn’t long before she was putting out some pretty decent sketches. But what’s the hang up with everyone else? What is the obsession with being perfect right out of the gate?

For this one, I’m revisiting a post from 2016. I’ve posted it in its entirety here for you. Just keep reading to find out why life would be so much more fun and a lot less stressful if you could just get your ego to take a hike while you let the suppressed artist within out to have some fun.

Who Say it Has to Be Perfect?

The Beauty in Doing Something Just for Pleasure

At what point in our lives do we as human beings become so controlled by our egos that we think that whatever we do has to be perfect? And for the vast majority, if we doubt our ability, or think that we’ll fail, or make a mistake, then we don’t even try at all. How many experiences do we miss out on because the drive to be perfect in all things gets in the way?

As kids, we naturally accepted that there was a learning curve while we were in school. In all honesty, we didn’t even know what a learning curve was. It was just something we did as we learned the curriculum. But what is it about the ego, that as we become adults, we don’t allow ourselves the luxury of a learning curve? The overriding thought or fear becomes, “What if I can’t do it right? What if I make a mistake?”

Photo Credit: 123RF.com Copyright : Ion Chiosea

News Flash…Nobody Was Born an Expert!

Chances are pretty high that you won’t do it right and you will make mistakes. In fact, probably lots and lots of mistakes! Do you honestly think that Kobe was an instant NBA star from the moment he first stepped foot on a basketball court or that Tiger Woods was a champion golfer the moment he picked up his very first golf club? Do you think Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were techie geniuses from day one? Or that Slash from Guns n Roses could rock the guitar like he does from the moment he first held one in his hands? How about Michelangelo, or any of the artists over at Disney, Warner Bros., or Pixar? Or do you think that chances are more than likely that they went through the learning curve, met a gazillion obstacles, and made a gazillion mistakes on their journey to expert status?

They made it to where they are because they didn’t expect to be perfect from the get go. They allowed for the learning curve. Perfection may have been the end goal, but the difference is…in the beginning, they not only allowed themselves to be human and make mistakes, they fully expected to make mistakes. In fact, I’m pretty sure they welcomed the mistakes. All successful people in the world know that there are valuable lessons to be learned in the mistakes.

That being said, let me pose another question (or two or three). I’ll assume that since this is an art blog, you might want to learn to draw. Why? Do you want to make a career out of it? Do you wish your work could hang in galleries? Or you do want to learn just because you wish you could for the fun of it?

Personally, I Think it Should All Be Fun!

If it’s a professional endeavor, then there are avenues you can take to get there. If it’s more of a personal one, you can still take classes or learn on your own. There are even a number of successful artists who are self-taught. But if you want to learn just for the fun of it, then why don’t you? I hear so many people say that they don’t because they ‘can’t even draw stick people’. So what? Who says it has to be perfect? That’s a preconceived notion that you have in your head. If you want to draw or paint, then draw or paint!

People hold themselves back for the silliest reasons. But not drawing shouldn’t be one of the things you hold off on  for any reason. Who says you have to show anyone unless you want to? Why can’t it be an activity you do for the pure enjoyment of creating? It doesn’t have to be perfect. It can be silly, whimsical, childlike, or abstract for that matter. You can choose to have it publicly displayed via social media or it can remain entirely personal and private.

It amazes me how many people become paralyzed with fear at the thought of putting pencil to paper. It’s all due to this preconceived notion that the work will be less than perfect. Not too long ago I did a post entitled, Modern Art vs Kid Art. I will tell you right off that I failed at trying to tell the difference between true modern art (some valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars) versus art done by young children. It just goes to show that not all art has to look like work done by the classical masters.

What is Perfect, Anyway?

There’s no rule that says art has to be perfect. There would be no way to define what perfect is anyway, since art it is completely relative to the creator and to the viewer (if there is one). Case in point…you might be a huge fan of modern art and tell me that this piece or that piece is absolutely perfect. Personally I don’t happen to think so because I don’t like modern art. So if you create a whimsical stick figure comic strip, who am I to say anything about it? Oh, I might have an opinion about it, but that’s all it is. What I think doesn’t devalue what you do any more than it devalues those modern art works worth hundreds of thousands. Guess what? Despite what I think…they’re still worth hundreds of thousands! The important thing is…did you have fun creating it?

I realize some of you may be so uptight about perfection, that having fun with art may be near impossible. How do you get your ego to take a hike for a few minutes so that you can enjoy the process? Create silly exercises. Try drawing something upside down. Attempt a drawing by looking in a mirror as you draw. Try not looking at the paper at all while you draw. Challenge yourself to draw it in fifteen seconds.

These are all really great exercises to get your ego to relax. There is no way to do these exercises perfectly because there is no perfect. They’re silly exercises and your mind should understand right off the bat that the results will be just as silly and far less than perfect. These are exercises that will basically help you to ‘get over yourself’ and have fun. Once you loosen up, then try something a little more serious. Or not.

Who Says You Have To?

You can continue doing silly if you want. Artist Stefan G. Bucher has an ongoing daily monster theme going created from random ink splats.

Stefan G. Bucher

Cartoonist and educator, Lynda Barry, in an exclusive with Amazon about her book, Picture This: The Near-Sighted Monkey:

Picture This: The Near-sighted Monkey Book, by Lynda Berry

Q: What would you say to someone who asks about the functionality of your books, their purpose?

A: My goal is to make a book for someone who is sitting in the waiting room at the Jiffy Lube while they were getting their oil changed. I want to make books that are picked up by a bored or waiting person who starts to thumb through them and gets drawn in enough so that they stop noticing they are waiting at the Jiffy Lube and instead start to itch to make something with their hands. A picture, or a comic or anything at all. I’m devoted to the idea that the use of images can not only transform our experience of time and space, but also has an absolute biological function that is directly tied to an essential state of being which is this: the feeling that life is something worth living.

And why can’t that hypothetical person waiting at Jiffy Lube be ourselves? Why can’t our own moments of creating help us to forget (if only for the moment) or distract us from whatever is on our minds? Why can’t it help us to work through the things on our minds? If you have a small enough sketchbook, why can’t you use the time waiting at Jiffy Lube or doctor’s office or anywhere else you might have to wait to your advantage? Part of what Barry advocates is using creativity while journaling. If this strikes a chord with you, picture journal your experiences throughout the day.

See a kid throwing a tantrum in that doctor’s office you’re waiting in? Sketch it out! See another kid drop his ice cream much to the dog’s delight? Sketch it out! See an uptight lady get her skirt blown up by a subway vent? Sketch it out! Include how each experience made you feel when you witnessed it. Or maybe you had your own experience that day and wished you had said something or handled it differently. Use your drawings. Incorporate text. Use pen, pencil, marker, paint, etc. Use all of the above. There is no right or wrong!

Art is what you create in whatever manner you create it and with whatever skill level you create it. In the case of drawing and painting, it’s creating an image that wasn’t there before. Period. You don’t have to have an art degree or use expensive canvases. You can use inexpensive sketchbooks, the side of an old cardboard box, or yesterday’s newspaper! Tell your ego that it has two choices. One, it can take a hike and leave. Or two, it can sit quietly and observe while you have your fun.

Note: The number two option is very hard for most egos and it will insist on putting its unsolicited two cents in.

Tip: Ignore it!

There Is No Perfect

Perfection is just a notion in your mind.

So seriously…get the idea of perfect out of your head. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s not going to be perfect. For example, I can take any one of my fully rendered animal portraits and pick it apart. I can be totally proud of a piece and happy with it, but I can still find ‘mistakes’. One thing I’ve learned is that we are all our own worst critics. And so I’ll say it again, there never will be perfect. There’s always better though and most of the time that’s good enough. You must learn to either silence the critic within (ego) or learn to live with its incessant chatter.

Approach art with an open mind. It is what it is and however it turns out is how it is supposed to be. And yes, if you want to get more technical, then that option is always available to you. There are classes you can take, videos you can watch, etc. But if you’d rather continue at whatever level you’re at, then continue! I say that because I’ve known certain individuals who have taken classes and found that the fun was sucked right out by the fundamentals. Fair warning. That being said though, there’s no rule that says once you learn the fundamentals (if you choose to) that you can’t still do both (trained and untrained) art works. Or…find a way to combine the two!

One Rule to Rule Them All

I think that’s part of what I love about art. Yes, there are fundamental basics that are good to know. But in this day and age, there are no rules that say you have to follow them! In my humble opinion, there is only one hard and fast rule about art, and it is this…you absolutely must have fun doing it, or don’t do it at all.