The Perfectionist Issue.

My art and Monet's, in the shadows.

Mar 04, 2023

Monet's demise decades ago inspired me to write this post.
My perfectionism affects me, in verse
A commitment to update this blog once a week

Perfectionism is the Death of Art.

“I would like to paint the way a bird sings.”

The father of impressionist painting and a visualist revolutionary, Claude Monet, was also a perfectionist, insecure, and depressed. He destroyed 500 of his paintings by cutting, burning, and kicking them. He was an artist who didn't allow his work to grow.

In fact, he once destroyed 15 paintings that he had spent three years preparing just before a new exhibition in a frantic outburst at his own incompetence. After giving the paintings one last look, he deduced that they weren't good enough. In response to self criticism, Monet used a knife and paintbrush to slash and permanently damage the $100,000 in 1908 paintings.

Monet valued life and his job, he was always striving to be the greatest. He was unable to share his talent because of his insecurity. It's normal to desire to be perfect, yet leading a “perfect life” has its pitfalls.

Many artists, like Monet, limit their art to ideas in their heads, lines in sketchbooks, and words on a page because they are afraid it will not be good enough. Our creativity has suffered as a result of our desire to create something out of the ordinary. I've been putting off posting on this blog for months because I'm not confident enough in my creation or myself to let others see what I'm capable of.

If artists like us do not bring our work out of the shadows and into the light, we will be responsible for the death of art.

The Fear of Not Being Perfect is Ruining My Life.

By Vaani Singh Tomar <3

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

I spend every second of minutes if not hours 
Trying to build the perfect image of myself in others minds 
"Hardworking, Self determined and Goal oriented" 
They believe me, don't question my lies or try my crimes
Yet I find myself discontented and disconnected 
I wish to escape this gimmick but I will uphold it till the end of time
The fear of not being perfect is ruining my life.

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

Every step I take, every stroke I brush and every word I speak is planned ahead of time, 
Every morning I look back at a reflection I don't recognize 
I write and I write and I write 
Burning the charcoal of this pencil like I burn away my life 
I read and I tear the sheet and throw it in the trash 
Same place I expect to be in a few years on a drunken out crash,
Sometimes I wish to cut loose and run away to Arrecife, 
Break from the chains and heal the whiplash
The fear of not being perfect is ruining my life 
And soon it will burn and crash.

A Promise made by a "Flawed" Artist

to herself, and to you.

I am a writer. I write once a week but am too afraid to post it. Fear of being an artist, fear of my own ability, and fear of not being good enough holds me back, but I've made a conscious effort to overcome it. In some ways, I'm like Claude Monet, except I'm not as good as he is and I let people see my "flawed" creations. I'm writing this post with the intention of sending it. If you're reading this, I'll post something every Saturday at 9 a.m., just like I did this time.

Fun Fact

The Batman was released on March 4, 2022, exactly one year ago today.

Gracias for tapping In, jusqu'à la prochaine fois.

Play See you again by Tyler, the Creator and Kali Uchis