Are you ok with erasing your work if it’s not good enough? Are you able to admit it’s not good enough?—- “Hi, humility, nice to meet you.”
As a professional creative, it is important not to cherish a piece so highly that erasing the entire design is off the table if it’s “not working”. Most times, trying to limp an ill-fated project through to the end, instead of erasing the whole thing and starting over, can get you into trouble.
There are two specific reasons to erase the work.
The first reason you should erase the work- even after a hard earned attempt at getting it “right”- is because the application of the medium was done incorrectly.
The second reason is because the client is unhappy—but the caveat to this is communication throughout the process!
Almost never have I had to erase the work and re-do an entire painting for a client. That’s a bold statement but it’s not because I’m an excellent painter. Nope.
It’s because I’m an expert communicator.
As a commission artist, I am a communicator. The hard work of a custom piece is not in the making of it, rather, it is in the communication leading up to the final work. That’s why I have created a framework called the Artemotiv Method which is my 5 step design process that allows both the client and I to formulate exactly how the final product will look prior to the actual work of art being made.
As I look back on my seven year career thus far, I can think of three commissioned art jobs where I had to erase the work because I failed to communicate with the client in the right way. I can think of countless other times where I had to erase the work because it just wasn’t good enough.
So maybe we can apply this whole concept to real life. I think of the 38 Special song lyrics, “Hold on loosely, but don’t let go, if you cling too tightly, you’re gonna loose control.”
Let’s practice humility and communication.
Hand|Art. Head|Business. Heart|Belief.
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