Perfectionism

December 2021

Perfectionism is a concept that has been on my mind for a few years now, because many artists are often considered perfectionists. To me, perfectionism is a scale that when out of balance can cause procrastination and self doubt for creatives, both of which can disable your ability to create your best work. In my experience, I learned that you have to fail to fall forward. If you keep sticking to what you are comfortable with and refuse to try something new (something that will cause you to have to practice until you get it right), you will go nowhere. I am just now at 19 years of age learning how to step outside of my comfort zone by making master copies of artists' work I find personally interesting, complex, and culturally relevant. By doing these master copies I've learned what I need to improve about my own skills and that I have to keep experimenting to develop the Art practice and style I want. That means there will be a lot of failing before I achieve the level of practice I am seeking, and that's okay. There is no other way to be a successful artist.

This is a picture of a piece I designed as a Senior in high school, while taking AP Art. I was experimenting with a different style and approach. For me, I felt this piece did not work so I threw it away. My mother told me that I was being a "perfectionist" and she "rescued" it from the trash can. In my opinion, this piece of artwork had nothing to do with perfectionism, but rather was experimentation that simply went awry. I learned some new things in the process!