J Scott campbell

Feeling the pressure to be perfect? Don’t worry, it happens to us all…

Did you chase perfectionism as you developed as an artist?

Like most new artists, I felt inadequate and that I was never going to be as good as the mentors I looked up to. But it was when I started taking risks that I began to turn the heads of these very same elder artists.

Rather than boring them with my imitation of their work, I began intriguing them with my unexpected choices. I felt encouraged by this new-found interest in my experimentation and that, by its very nature, freed me from any expectations of what my work should look like in anyone else’s eyes.

What should artists focus on instead of perfectionism?

I’ve found the pursuit of perfectionism to be full of traps. Artistic growth comes from completing lots of different projects and studies in a timely manner, not by painstakingly working on one piece until it’s perceived to be “perfect”.

And work can often result in looking stiff when perfectionism is the goal. Perfectionism is the death of flow and looseness, and these are often the essence of inspired art. Chasing perfectionism can add hours, days, even weeks to a project, ultimately robbing you of your time, efficiency, and yes, money!

What would you say to artists feeling this type of pressure?

I can’t think of any artists who chased perfectionism and achieved it. Art by its very nature is imperfect, and it’s often in its imperfections that we find art interesting. So set out to produce good, inspired art – and lots of it.