Something I’ve Noticed About Myself
Photo by Flickr user Billy Liar under Creative Commons license
When I do a drawing that I really don’t like, it sort of freezes me. I don’t want to post it, but it’s a mammal, so shouldn’t I? I mean, it’s one out of 5,000, mark it down. But I don’t like the drawing, so I put it off and put it off. And meanwhile, I’m staring at it as it sits on the edge of my table, waiting for me to scan it, and I think its very presence makes me not even want to draw. It’s this thing that I have to deal with. Do you understand?
Last week, I drew a beaver that I really don’t like. So it’s sitting here on the corner of my table. I was going to post about monogamy among beavers for Valentine’s Day—that’s how long it’s been sitting here. I think I’ll just skip it for now and go on with the next one and either redraw the beaver if I have time or just suck it up and post it if I have no other choice.
Hi! As a fellow animal-drawer, I say post it! Along with an analysis of what you’d do over if you could. No better way to learn from your mistakes! :)
Well, we LOVE your giraffe!
..and you, of course!
–kate in ABQ
Tommaso—Well, luckily, I don’t have to post my mistakes to learn from them! I will probably end up posting it someday. Right now, I think I might put it in my box of drawings so I don’t have to look at it anymore. It’s not that bad a drawing. I’m totally overblowing it, you know. It’s just a silly beaver. I’ve posted drawings that I disliked much more than I dislike this one. I need to get over the perfectionism and get on with drawing. It really makes a difference when I draw every day.
I feel like that sometimes about writing — there are days when a blog posts sits in a tab half-written for hours.
I think it’s not uncommon among creative types. It’s quality control (unless it’s happening too often, in which case your inner critic needs some re-training).
Clare,
I think you’re right with your quality control theory. In this case, I just have to remember that a drawing is a drawing, and the goal wasn’t to draw every mammal species WELL!
JR
burn it in effigy, of course