Over the years learning to embrace mistakes has been difficult. Once there is a noticeable mistake in the drawing I fall out of love. This is a lesson that I still need to learn.
Since I know mistakes can be helpful, it stands to reason that making some would not phase me. In fact it seems like I would look forward to it. But I don’t. It is unreasonable for me to have high expectations for every drawing that I start. Yet I do. From now on I will keep this in mind. When a drawing doesn’t hold up to my standards, I will just make a new one.
Quantity vs Quality
Recently I read about two groups of artisans who were each given a directive. The first group was told to focus on quantity and that they would be judged on how many vessels they could create and the second group was told to focus on beauty, but that they could only submit one piece. It turned out that the most beautiful pieces came from the group that were told to focus on quantity. They were able to quickly learn from their mistakes. The second group made nothing. They spent all their time comparing theories and stuck in the pressure of trying to make one beautiful piece.
Sadly, I am a member of the second group. My focus has been on beauty and while I am working on a piece, if it starts to look wonky, I have a hard time sticking with it. This way of thinking keeps quantity low.
Embrace Mistakes
So all this time I have been doing it wrong! Every time I have heard other artists recommend to draw a lot, it never completely resonated. Now I get it.
All the agonizing over one drawing and trying to make sure it is lovely is a waste of time. It is a sign of the wrong perspective. If I embrace mistakes and look for them, I can make the next drawing better. The things I would change about the current artwork is a guide for the next piece.
“Do not fear mistakes, there are none.” – Miles Davis
This blog has helped me to draw more and I suspected that would be the case. When I show up to the page and keep my pen moving, my drawings improve. To be able to quickly learn from mistakes is a great skill. As quantity increases, so will the answers to how to make a beautiful drawing. It will be easier now that I have a better understanding of the value of quantity.
*Update 3-23-18: I thought it would be easier now that I understand the value of quantity, but it turns out that my mindset is still stuck and I need to adjust. Going forward I will focus on this principle and keep in mind that mistakes are guides for new and better drawings.
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