A Pep Talk for Imperfect Artists

Ahh, it feels like springtime even though it is only February! My husband and I went to a local park and took a walk tonight. It may not seem like a big deal, but to me it was reason to celebrate! It was my first walk outdoors this year. I’ve been doing Curvy Yoga and staying active at home over the Winter. I’m still on oxygen while active and sleeping, so taking a walk outside was nerve wracking for sure. Last year at this time, I could barely walk across the room without wheezing and having to sit down. Today I’m doing so much better! My husband and I walked down a path for a while, and came to a bridge. There was a duck “couple” exploring the water. The sunset home was magic too! And I’m ready to do it again soon!

I’ve been art journaling, making junk journals, drawing in my sketchbook, and researching eco crafts. The thing with creatives is, we are never short on ideas…only sometimes, time or the inclination to make things. I’ve been struck recently at a lot of my imperfect art. When I sketch in my sketchbook, or doodle in my art journal…let’s just say things are not always worth sharing. They are imperfect chicken scratch! That’s just part of being an artist.

This is a pep talk. About five years ago, I visualized a day when I would not make mistakes in my art. A day when everything would turn out just as I hoped when I first set out to paint the picture or draw the thing. Back then I made mistakes all the time! I had a tube of white acrylic paint, and I would paint over mistakes to hide the pen markings. Back then I didn’t believe in erasing. I did all my drawings with black bic pen and then covered up my mistakes with white paint. I thought that using pencil was cheating!

Two things have happened since then. One, I started using pencil and an eraser. Slowly my art changed shape and tone. And two, I started to just run with mistakes instead of always covering them up! I accepted the fact that my art would always be imperfect. Then, I started actually enjoying the imperfect lines and messes I was making. Nowadays, the imperfections don’t bother me that much. In fact there is so much magic in the imperfections, I feel like that is where the art is!

Just keep making things, and don’t worry about screwing up. The only artist who fails is the one who gives up, and the only artist who truly loses out is the one who is so scared of failure that they never even try at all.