Neurotic Crumblings

something different today… working on my values

(just some thoughts I had, looking back over the past couple of years. This is essentially advice I would give myself two years ago. Some of it still applies today…)

Don’t worry about quality early on. First, focus on getting content on paper. Quality will come. But a steady habit of working and practicing must come first. If you give too much time and effort to one piece, you’ll likely burn yourself out… and come back a year later and hate the thing anyway, which is pretty disheartening.

Try to improve one thing at a time. That way, you can make a piece of work and appreciate the small improvement, or at least experience, that you gained. The piece may not be brilliant, but that isn’t likely regardless when you’re a beginner. We all start cruddy.

Similarly, try to finish pieces on a regular basis. While I think daily practice is crucial when developing the art habit, I don’t think it is always necessary to finish a piece every day, because that kind of rigidity can cause burnout and be really disappointing if you miss a day. Better to get an unfinished doodle on paper, than to miss a day entirely. Anyway, it’s not a competition. This is between you and your art, and the most important thing is that you keep at it.

Me: This was the fixed price you agreed to before I did the work.

Client: Yes but it only took an hour!

Me: You would rather I was bad enough at this that it took me longer?