We are our biggest critics, and though I’ve always been somewhat of a perfectionist, I never truly realized this until I was in college.
I remember sitting there in my advanced graphic design college class, one of the last ones I had to take to complete my major. We were presenting our final projects in front of the whole class and I was saying I disliked a part of my project and thought it could be better. My professor kept saying there was nothing wrong with what I did, it looked great, and that I was my biggest critic.
She went on to say that I had a great eye for detail in every little thing I did. It was at that moment I realized I looked at my work differently than others. I can see every little flaw and overanalyze every square inch of the piece or think I could have spent an additional 10 hours on something to make it better.
Five Years Later…
Fast forward several years and here I still am obsessing over my work. It’s just something we deal with as artists, designers, and photographers. I have been working on this part of myself but I will admit, it is hard.
I had another wake-up call to stop worrying so much with one of my watercolor paintings in my enchanted forest collection, The Firefly Forest. After the painting was completed, I thought it wasn’t good enough to sell as prints or cards in my shop. I basically threw it in a pile and moved on.
One day I randomly thought of the painting and decided to try it as a greeting card in my shop. To my surprise, it started selling almost daily. A majority of my sales were just this card. I couldn’t believe it.
It made me start to look at the painting differently, as I was getting rave reviews about it as a card and people were loving it. I then made it into an 8×10 print, a bookmark, and now a sticker.
It remains one of my best-selling designs in my shop and it makes me wonder, what if I never gave it a chance?
View my online art shop here!
I guess the moral of the story here is even if you slightly dislike something about your work, chances are, no one will ever probably think that as well. Try out different designs in your shop, because you never know, you might surprise yourself!
I’ve heard from so many other artists that their bestsellers are something they never thought would sell. It just goes to show you there is a market for everything and chances are someone out there is going to love your art.
The Firefly Forest Is Available As A…
Greeting Card
Art Print
Bookmark
& Now As A Vinyl Sticker!
Thanks for reading this post on my experience with disliking my work. Never discredit yourself and always believe your work is good enough!
-Amanda
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