The REAL REASON why you can’t PAINT LOOSELY (yet!)

Painting loosely is one of the biggest challenges painters face. But there's likely one big reason why you're struggling to paint loose: perfectionism.

0:00 Intro

M U S I C
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[dakotajones]

A tip I recently learned while painting is it’s ok to have a bad piece. I use watercolor as my medium, and I was painting a wilting daisy. I liked the way it turned out but didn’t like the first few petals because I had never painted a flower before and had to experiment to get the right look. It’s ok to not like you work. And my tip is, just do it again. I kept my painting, but I painted it again on another sheet of paper with the techniques I learned from the previous one. There’s so many different ways of doing art out there, and for me, this one works best.

[NataweeTehCatxD]

When you said that perfectionism can lead to anxiety and depression I had a moment of realization about my journey in art. I have been aiming to make each piece the best possible and it all comes to nothing but burnout and sadness. Thank you so much Chelsea for making these videos :')

[lorriepaints]

I always comment to my fellow artists …there is an “ugly stage” to every painting …hang in till you get past that stage! We all think we must get a masterpiece right from the get go….and we get frustrated if that doesn’t happen within an hour . I Ordered her new book about 1 month ago! I’m getting more comfortable with trying new things . I did four peonie paintings today in about 2 1/2 hours….and they look great and really loose! I was thrilled! Fear be gone!

[johncoulter]

Thank you! I am a 70-year-old Vietnam veteran that lives in a single room in a friend's house. I see friends perhaps on two occasions a month - other than that I am alone - very alone. I started painting a year ago to combat my loneliness and I was initially thrilled with my results. Everyone who saw my work raved about it. A local wine tasting room asked me to display my work there, But because I am a perfectionist I don't want to take advantage of this opportunity until all my works are perfect. So for the last month, I've been going back to my old paintings and working them to death. I don't want to blow this opportunity But I want everyone to be thrilled or I'll feel foolish. To that end, I have not attempted any new work for the past month - just painting bandaids on old pieces to the point that I've destroyed what magic they once had. This talk you gave helped me - a lot. Thank you!

[lukoshey]

Something ill never forget from life drawing class at art school, we were a few weeks into the program and after a long 2 hour session with a model, the teacher said, 'ok, now i want you to tear it up, destroy it and throw in the garbage..! So many students objected but his response was, "You'll take these sketches home, theyll gather dust and in 6 months time, youll throw em away Dont be too precious." . He was right..

[RainbowRagdoll]

A best friend of mine, when I told her I was unravelling a section of my crocheted blanket over and over again because "I want it to be right." She told me that she calls those imperfections "a crafter's signature" and I find that to be a fantastic idea that I use in all of my hobbies (painting and drawing, clothing embroidery, regular embroidery, crochet, collage art) and it's just another tool I use to get over the hump of perfectionism.

[angiepen]

I'm an amateur noob at art, but a professional writer. I've told students something similar, that you learn immeasurably more from writing six stories than you do from writing one story and rewriting it five times. Do it, learn from it, do another one, keep going. Fiddling with commas and struggling to find that one perfect "lightning" word, word by word, in your one and only story or novel for months or years, is self-sabotage. I'm not surprised it's the same with paintings. Good vid.

[astrxne]

As a young artist, this speaks a lot to me in overcoming perfectionism. Done is definitely better than perfect! Thank you so much for such a wonderful video! :))

[lohkie__]

One of the weirdest things I've dealt with in life is hating the finished results of the majority of my drawings, all the while people love them and keep asking me to draw something else

[TaterKakez]

Thank you for making this video.

I started to sob (with my mouth full, lol, was unexpected) when you said to give yourself grace.

I am so hard on myself; put down painting for months at a time, because I get so frustrated that what I’m making doesn’t look the way I want it too.

I’m not a formerly trained painter; had some art classes in high school and college, but never art school.

Looking for teaching videos and tools online- YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram - can be so overwhelming.

Seeing all these people so confidently present themselves, and so incredibly talented (and young!), makes me look at my own work and become ashamed.

I so badly want to create what I see in my head.

Time, and grace.

Thank you

[Flowerbloom-ftru]

What really made me so obsessed with art for 2 years straight every day, is painting one painting a day, and really small, full of comfort and exploration, that allowed to learn so much faster, by avoiding perfection, and by judging with the bigger picture rather than in detail, it’s the best thing that have happened to me

[BipolarCourage]

Perfectionism does make me feel anxious & not good enough. I worked through this by giving myself permission to 'make a mess' & avoiding 'realistic' & instead going for stylized, abstract, symbolic, expressive. I listened to music that fit my mood & went with my intuition. I "overpainted", many layers, pushed the boundaries. It was therapeutic. ,

[wolf]

You are 'spot on' regarding perfectionism. Everything you described about perfectionism is what I have been doing. I'm very grateful for you having done this video. I now know what I need to do now in order to improve my painting. Thank you so much for your advice.

[hellohsaytin]

I came here to learn about painting, and ended up realizing what was holding back my musical aspirations. Thank you. ❤❤

[nikitashaitan]

14:46 i think the actual moral of the story is that we value grades and appreciation more than the process. It is the system of education that creates perfection in us. And we spread this perception of grades into art easily.

It is one of the reasons i decided to stop my art related social media. I do not like thinking of being judged. This decision made me kinda proud of my work while working on basically anything. In the end of the day the only thing i’m looking for is personal satisfaction and oh boy how satisfied i am

[wolflahti]

I knew that I tended to be too fiddly and overwork my paintings, so I one day decided to throw caution to the wind, as it were, and quickly lay down an underpainting using only a palette knife—with the intent of adding refining details on this loose base. So, in ten minutes or so, I blocked in the figures and environment, took a step back to evaluate what I'd done. And to my amazement, I realized... I was done. The painting was complete.

[lauriebohon]

Thank you - I’ve struggled with perfectionism most of my life and you are right about where it comes from. For me, when I started painting two years ago, it was so liberating to put the brush down and call it complete, even though I could see things that weren’t perfect. It doesn’t have to be perfect - it’s the process I enjoy so much! This was very insightful commentary and I love watching you paint! Beautiful.

[Rtoizzae]

I just barely started paining with water color, but have had a bunch of other hobbies I got deeply into. I must say, this really resonated with me. Thank you for taking the time.

[ranvir]

The word curiosity i lacked till now !
As a beginner, and believer of perfectionism, it shifted me for a moment. For me this video is a gem .
Thanks

[jennw]

I currently do watercolors but watching you makes me wish I had an oil studio :)
I have been breaking through my perfectionism and fear by doing short painting sessions every morning before breakfast. Like the morning pages from The Artist's Way. Paint without thinking.
I'm painting so much more and wonderful things are happening!