Perfectionism Will NOT Help You Sell Your Art

(Transcription)

Artist: Mark Robinson; Townsville, Queensland, Australia

QUESTION: How has perfectionism hurt you?

Ann Rea: Perfectionism is the devil incarnate. So, what Mark wrote was–

Mark Robinson: You’re right.

Ann Rea: Hi Olive. Was having lunch with a mate recent. You could tell he’s from Australia ’cause he’s having lunch with a mate. He wasn’t having lunch with a friend and–

Mark Robinson: Right, right, that’s right.

Ann Rea: –recently, and he told me something which I found very helpful. I thought it might be relevant for my fellow artists out there. One of the things that Anna mentions is a great obstacle for artists is perfectionism. I know I’m being guilty of this and it’s helped me back in my artwork for more than I care to remember. My mate used to be the same way until his pastor said to him. “Stop thinking of yourself as a perfectionist.” Good suggestion. Ryan, can you put yourself as someone who maintains a standard of excellence, he said it removed the negative connotation from his efforts to always doing things while getting permissions, do things, his best.

Mark Robinson: Um.

Ann Rea: While having to be perfect. This really head home with me and I felt like I was finally given permission to work to achieve a standard in my art but without the impossible burden if each piece having to be perfect. Helped me a lot and I hope it’s a value to you as well and also I hope it’s okay. And yeah, so it was obviously a value ’cause we have like a ton of comments after–

Mark Robinson: Yes.

Ann Rea: This. And this is one of the subjects that I cover in the program. I caught talk about perfectionism. I liked his advice but in the way I like to frame it is progress, not perfection.

Mark Robinson: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

Ann Rea: The thing about perfection is first of all, it doesn’t exist.

Mark Robinson: Right, yup.

Ann Rea: Why would you chase a goal that you’re never going to attain? Number one.

Mark Robinson: Yup.

Ann Rea: Number two, when you’re perfectionistic. You’re incredibly efficient. You waste time. You waste money and you waste effort. It’s very inefficient.

Mark Robinson: Right.

Ann Rea: There is in software development. There is the iterative approach, the agile development approach where they just go… These are people that have to be very very precise too, right? They’re coding new software. But they understand that they just need to create what’s called a minimal viable product and get it to replace where it’s functional and then, examine what works, examine what doesn’t and iterate. So you’ll hear me say iterate a lot in this program because that’s what you’re doing as an artist too. You just invest, you have a critique. It’s just as important to say what’s working as it is to say what’s not. So the tendency of a perfectionist is they look on the dark side and they’re working all the flaws and they don’t have a good look and appreciation for all the things that are right.

Mark Robinson: Yeah, yeah.

Ann Rea: I would just say do whatever works for you but the mantra of progress, not perfection, I found it very useful because that’s all we can do anyway.

Mark Robinson: Yeah.

Ann Rea: And it’s very punishing and there’s a book that is. I think it’s in the recommended reading list for the program called Art and Fear. If you don’t have the book Art and Fear, you got to get the book Art and Fear. Just a thin little volume–

Mark Robinson: Yup.

Ann Rea: And go straight to the chapter on perfectionism. Skip all the other chapters. Just go to that chapter and read what it says. In summary, there is a ceramics class and it’s divided intentionally into two groups. One group, their job, their homework is to make the perfect ceramic vessel.

Mark Robinson: Right.

Ann Rea: Only one, just one. Right? To make it perfect.

Mark Robinson: Yeah.

Ann Rea: This side over here. They’re gonna be graded not on the quality but on the amount of clay they use. So they’re just supposed to be making vessels. Just make vessels.

Mark Robinson: Yeah.

Ann Rea: No they’re not gonna be sloppy or haphazard about it but just make as many as you can because the more that you weigh in at the end of the semester the higher your grade is. So, which group, A or B, do you think had the biggest increase in quality and skill?

QUESTION: What were your challenges as an artist?

Mark Robinson: I’ve put a lot of money into, you know the early marketing in that before where I’ve done courses and things like that because as an artist I knew that was the, one of the pieces of the puzzle that was missing.
But every time I did them, nothing worked. What side is there? Are these courses a waste of my help or so much in a parcel, I’m not gonna do it again. And then, the difference with yours was that I thought, “Okay, this is an artist who’s teaching artists how to do this.” So I thought, there’s got to be something different in a way your doing it and then the regular business model which didn’t work for me at all. So that was one of the challenges. The other one was, I was in a comic-con in Redding California, not so long ago and I met one of the model artists, Walden Wong.
Who, you know, we got along really well and he just said to me, “Look, if you really wanna “be full time as an artist,” “and become a professional,” “you’ve got to let it go.” “I’ve been trying to work full time” “and then, do it on the weekends” “and the evenings as a kind of hobby.”
“You’ve got to make that commitment where you go,” “this is gonna be my full time stand,” “I’m committed to this.”

QUESTION: Why doesn’t traditional marketing training help artists make a living?

Ann Rea: Traditional business training and marketing training is designed to sell goods or services.

Mark Robinson: Yes.

Ann Rea: An artist product is not. We don’t sell goods or services. We sell emotion.

Mark Robinson: That’s right. Yeah.

Ann Rea: You either ignite an emotional response in your collector, your buyer, or you don’t.

Mark Robinson: Yeah.

Ann Rea: That music wants to make you dance or it doesn’t.

Mark Robinson: Yes.

Ann Rea: And so, traditional business and marketing plans and that training doesn’t account for that. And that leaves artists a drift. You’re the second person I spoke to today who’s invested a lot of time, money and frustration–

Mark Robinson: Yup.

Ann Rea: In marketing classes.

Mark Robinson: Yeah, exactly, exactly. Yeah, that’s right.

Ann Rea: There might be bits and pieces that you can still apply?

Mark Robinson: Yup, yup.

Ann Rea: But until you’re clear on your target market and your value proposition. Those other pieces are gonna be very difficult for you to reconcile. Like, what do I do with this knowledge? I don’t know how the hell to use it, right? So that’s saying it may not all be lost, what you’ve learned.

Mark Robinson: Right, right.

Ann Rea: You got to get this piece right. You’ve got to crack your four-part code. You have to test your value proposition. Rule your prototype project. And at a minimum, and I wanna emphasize at a minimum, earn back your tuition investment through the sale of your art during your final project. Not before, that’s right, if you do it before, we like that but that’s not the requirement.

QUESTION: How did perfectionism hurt your art?

Mark Robinson: I used to overwork pieces because I thought, now it’s not quite right, it’s not quite right and then it gets to the point where you kind of crossed this line and you’ve ruined it to a degree. Yeah, just the colors have become muddy or so, I’ve over shaded that. You can’t get it back and so, I’ve learned to sort of get it all right. It’s not perfect but it looks good and I know if I do more I’m gonna ruin it. I’m gonna stop for now. So I just back up and just leave it and then maybe look at it in a couple of days or something like that.

QUESTION: Why do artists strive for perfect?

Ann Rea: The question you have to ask is what are you thinking? When you’re doing that. What’s the underlying belief? And I can tell you already for you perfectionists out there. You don’t want to be criticized.

Mark Robinson: Yes, that’s right. Yeah, that’s the truth.

Ann Rea: And you think that you’re going to save yourself from being criticized but you’re not.

Mark Robinson: No, that’s true too, yeah.

Ann Rea: And, the only… Really, in terms of selling your art. The only criticism that matters is your target market. It’s nobody else, who cares?

Mark Robinson: Yeah.

Ann Rea: Who cares.

Mark Robinson: And then you are your biggest critique.

Ann Rea: Yeah.

Mark Robinson: So, managing that voice, I mean you can use medication. You can use exercise but you know, you got to do something to observe that narrative that’s saying, “It’s not perfect.” “It’s wrong, it’s wrong.” You have to be, if like, think of a small child–

Ann Rea: Yeah.

Mark Robinson: Where you’re teaching something new to. You would be kind, you’d be gentle and you’d meet them where they are.

Ann Rea: Yup, yeah.

Mark Robinson: And if they’re getting fatigued, you’d say, “All right, let’s have a rest.”

Ann Rea: Yeah.

Mark Robinson: Let’s come back to it later. You then keep forcing them because it wouldn’t work.

QUESTION: What would you say to other artists about this program?

Mark Robinson: What I would honestly tell someone is I would say, “If you are serious about “wanting to use your arts and become…” “Look I’m a full time artist or make a living out of the artist.” Then I would say, “You really should invest in the course.” I’d say, “If you’re not serious “then keep doing what you’re doing” “but if you wanna make that jump “from that leap from being a hobby, “I mean admiring, not making that, “that’s scary commitment so to speak.” Then dive in and do it because even if you stop finishing the first course, it’s clear how much and more insights given me and just the confidence and the various activities, that kind of.
It’s just a peel, back whole, there’s various obstacles, that is as you say you better get rid of the psychological stuff and get that clear first.
And then, you can build on a practical stuff because as long as there is obstacles in there, it doesn’t matter what you learn, you’re not gonna leap forward. It’s a really good way of doing it. Not without scrags. So yeah, that’s what I would say to them. I’d say, “If you’re really serious, “then you should really do it.” “If you’re not serious then “just keep doing what you’re doing.”
So yeah, yes. If you wanna take your art to another level just get a more authentic honest serious level about a size worth doing. Even if you didn’t want to do it full time.