How You Can Prevent Art Perfection From Causing Creative Paralysis

No matter how creative we are, we all have that thing in the back of our minds. It’s the little voice that says you can never be good enough. Having it is a good thing. The voice tells us to never stop trying to improve and learn new things. But sometimes, the voice can get louder than normal. That’s when perfectionism begins. Perfectionism is what stops you from writing your book or painting your picture, or making your app…

Art perfection is the belief that you can’t create art unless it’s perfect, which leads to a lot of over-analyzing, never-ending drafts, and a general lack of creativity. And this spills over into other parts of our lives — we become so caught up in working to perfection that we fail to produce anything at all. Not good, right? Well, here are some ways that you can stop art perfection from ruining your creative career.

You Can Only Begin When the Conditions Are Right

You’re always hungry for more — more supplies, more ideas, and more practice. Even you wait for conditions to be perfect and all the variables to line up perfectly.

By waiting until you feel ready to start, you are giving yourself a better chance of succeeding. You know deep down that this is just an excuse and that you are really trying to avoid the possibility of failing.

But in reality, you will never have the ideal starting point.

Solution

When you wait until everything is perfect, you are not taking advantage of opportunities. You’re missing out on the process of working toward something and honing your skills. By getting started, even if the final product isn’t perfect, you’ll learn so much more than you would have otherwise. This way of thinking is what keeps many people from pursuing their dreams.

So, go ahead and prepare yourself. Stay focused and do whatever it takes to get into the right frame of mind to create your best work. Just get started, even if you don’t feel like it at first.

You Always Have a Little More to Add to a Piece

When it comes to your work, there’s always something else you want to change or tweak. Well, this is what perfectionists do. They do this because they do not want anyone to criticize or reject what they have already done.

You think adding more will make it perfect, but the closer to perfection you get, the longer it takes. But have you ever made so many changes that you ended up with something that was worse than your original idea?

Solution:

It’s good to make changes and additions. But when it becomes a cycle where you are always making more and more small changes and additions, you might want to take a step back.

Accept the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Keep working at it, and at some point, your skills will catch up with your vision.

Focus on your ability to grow and see your potential. Love what you do and be kind to yourself as you work towards your goals. If you are not where you hoped, take some time and be gentle with yourself. Accept who you are now, and things will come together when the time is right.

You Often Find Yourself Blocked in the Creative Process

Perfectionists tend to set the bar too high for themselves, and perfectionists who are also artists can put way too much pressure on themselves while they work. This can leave them staring at a blank canvas for days. But even Picasso didn’t paint masterpieces every time he sat down to create art.

Solution:

The process of creation is a journey. Don’t feel as though you have to stick to an exact plan once you’ve made one. Be open to new ideas, and create a new workable plan if necessary. Find a notebook and write down all your ideas. Prioritize them, then let go of the ones that aren’t going to work for you and your space—or commit yourself to figure out how you can make them happen.

So if art perfection is causing you to procrastinate, stop sweating the details and start working towards the best first draft of your work that you possibly can. That’s the only way that your work will get better.

Read our next blog to learn more about bad art portfolio examples to improve yours right now.