I wish I hadn’t made some of the coral so dark.
“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.” – Scott Adams
Life Lessons
One of the most freeing pieces of advice I ever received was the one given to me by a Weber State University art professor.
Quick sketch of a barn
“Give yourself permission to paint a bad picture,” he said, then gave us the assignment to do just that.
I absolutely hated the “bad” painting I did for the assignment. But when the professor posted all of the students’ “bad paintings” on the wall, he pointed out what he liked in each of them. I was dumbfounded at what he liked in mine, but in reconsidering I did see a few elements of saving grace in my ugly picture.
While I never did come to like that painting, I did learn from the exercise. From that time foreword, I’ve given myself permission to paint a bad picture every time I have a blank piece of paper or canvas in front of me. It frees me enough that I can actually paint without having to worry about messing up. That’s good because I always do.
I can honestly say I’ve never painted a piece that I felt was perfect — and probably never will. It’s the same with my writing. I can always see ways, after a piece is published, where I could have made the words sing more vibrantly, or whisper more gracefully.
Perfection simply isn’t within me. But that’s OK. It’s the imperfections that make me who I am – and unique.
Blog pick of the day.
Bean Pat: Leanne Cole Photography http://tinyurl.com/ohj4k9t Abbotsford Convent, a delightful blog for the armchair traveler.
Pat Bean's blog 
Is perfection in any of us?
Nope. Thank goodness Dawn.
Thank you Pat for the Bean Pat, much appreciated.
Best advice a lecturer gave me was to be prepared to stuff it up completely and learn.
You’re welcome Leanne. The lecturer’s advice sounds good to me.
reading this is like sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and you ,,, really enjoy your b log
Looking forward to that cup of coffee across the table Cindi. Thanks for the kind words.
I like how you ended this post Pat – and it is something we should remember. Our imperfections make us the people we are and there are those who love us for it.
Thanks Colline. I just wish I hadn’t spent almost half my life thinking I had to be perfect. What a relief it was to finally admit I wasn’t and never would be.
I done plenty bad paintings. Surprisingly enough, they sold before what I thought were my best paintings. Somebody told me early on to keep everything. You never know what folk will end up liking.
Ditto with my blogs, Totsymae. The ones I think are not good enough are often the ones people like best. And just by the way, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of your fantastic art pieces that I didn’t like.
Perfection is highly overrated. It’s the imperfections that make life (and paintings) interesting. 🙂