PapaSeanski

I’ve been painting a picture of the Incredible Hulk on a t-shirt for a while now. I’m almost done, but I feel like the painting is always looking back at me saying something like,

“Fix this, fix that.”
“That color looks off.”
“The proportions aren’t right.”
“Add more shadows.”

I know it’s not really the painting that’s too picky and unsatisfied; It’s me. All my artwork goes through the same hyper-scrutiny. No drawing is ever good enough, and so, a lot of my work goes unfinished. Before this painting, I can’t remember the last time I drew anything, let alone produce a finished work. Even though the Hulk isn’t coming out the way I want him to, I’m determined to get him finished.

We forget how easily we all produced works of art for our parents in kindergarten. We drew a house and a happy sun in the sky in 2 minutes flat, and showed the drawing off like it was being displayed in a museum. Sometimes those days seem too long ago. Over time, we learn to beat ourselves down, and count ourselves out. We learn to pick ourselves apart and let everything eat up our creativity.

No more of that crappy thinking. While bringing the Hulk to life, I learned a few things.

1. Remember what you have done! A lot of confidence can be gained from remembering past work that you are proud of. If you are fortunate enough to have an old work of art, hang it up. If you have an old research paper, reread it. Maybe last month you wrote a funny email. Dig it up. If you can’t think of anything, ask your friends. Sometimes we are blind to our greatest accomplishments. You might be surprised what other people appreciate about you.

2. Don’t try to impress others! Sometimes it is easy to get caught up on what others may think of your work. If you try to conform to everyone else then you will lose your own unique voice. Being unique is what makes your work appeal to others in the first place. There will always be people who don’t like your work. There’s nothing you can do about that. Just be you.

3. Relax! You aren’t performing heart surgery. Take a chill pill. Have some fun with what you are doing. You don’t have to separate focus and determination from having a little fun.

4. Take breaks! If you are getting bored with your project, take a short break and come back to it with a refreshed mindset. Your project won’t get up and walk away on its own. Pinky promise.

5. Don’t work when you are hungry! This is especially true when painting the Hulk, because he always looks hungry. Don’t starve yourself for the sake of getting something done faster. Your brain is supposed to feed you ideas, not your stomach.

Ok, time for dinner. Want to see the Hulk shirt I made? Stay tuned.

Image by Tedsblog