Make Mistakes!
We all try to do things right the first time.
I just finished reading several articles. One was about creating good habits which is always on the top of my list of self-help ideas.
Another one was about having backup systems in place. Or maybe it was about learning and creating so the system you use is self efficient. Oh dear, I can’t cite the exact last article ideas, and actually either of the two I thought important!
Oh well… I think it was about those good habits as I said above. But it did inspire me to come write an article about making mistakes. It also made me think about what I tell my students, “I want you to make all the mistakes.”
What to do next?
Thankfully, I followed the first writer because I want to see what else she has to write along the lines of “life lessons.” That is where I found the article. I was tired of what Medium puts up on my page “they” think I might want to read.
That helped me decide a good habit for me would be to change the way I use Medium.
I have decided that I will look at tags or topics instead of what is “recommended” for me. I also choose to see the “latest” posts instead of older ones. This is a way for me to hone in on the type of articles that may be interesting for me as a creative.
The image you see above is what I have done to a failed painting. I could not even define what the mistakes were. I just knew it was not a good painting. I do know I tried to create a different style and it did not work. I put the failed painting away in my huge shelf unit in the studio.
One day I pulled out all the unfinished or failed paintings to go through to clear it out. That means I would either destroy or paint on top of those.
This one I decided to put a red layer on top of the failed representational painting. Oooohhh…. did I enjoy that? Yes! And it led me to think about putting some light color in my red to find the lighter areas of the painting. It was working much better. I enjoyed what I was doing!
I did let it sit for a few weeks where I could see it when in the studio. This allows me to make decisions about whether I should do more or leave it as is.
The only thing I did a few months later was choose to put a warmer light color on those light areas to emphasize what could be early morning light. Now I am at a point of finish… and deciding what kind of frame it should have.
My mistakes help me learn!
When you read something that inspires you, write it down.
Write down “your own thoughts” about how it can help you.
What can you take from this? Never give up.
