Bex Hall

Exploring Creativity

Bex Hall > practice and suck less

practice and suck less

Practice does not make perfect

It makes improvement

I love a loose, flowy watercolor style but don’t have much experience, so I emulated an artist whose work I admire.

It was difficult to make the first strokes. How much water do I add? Which brush do I use? How do I correct muddy colors? What if it looks horrible?

“It is impossible to get better and look good at the same time. Give yourself permission to be a beginner. By being willing to be a bad artist, you have a chance to be an artist, and perhaps, over time, a very good one.” 

I keep Julia Cameron’s quote tacked on my board where I can see it. I just need to remember to LOOK at it, read it, take it in.

Because when I do, I find the courage to try again, to practice. My third attempt shows improvement over my first one. I’ll take that as a win.

Cheers!

Ready to get creative?

#The100DayProject is a free, global art project.

The idea is simple: choose a creative project, do it every day for 100 days, and share your process online.

Every year, thousands of people all around the world commit to 100 days of creating. Anyone can participate (yes, that means you!).

Want to join us for the 8th annual #The100DayProject? The next round starts January 31st, 2021.

Join the project!

For how to participate, click here.

For FAQ, go here.

If you search on Instagram for #The100DayProject, you will see the mass variety of projects people have done. From creating naturescapes in watercolor to knitting squares for a blanket. Some are writing one page a day for a book, some are snapping one photograph a day of a particular subject. I saw one artist sketch and paint local wildflowers. And just think, if you do one small thing every day, you will have a hundred things all together in the end. A book. A blanket. A portfolio. A body of work.

One of my favorite people, Austin Kleon, wrote a post earlier this month, titled 100-day Practice and Suck Less Challenge. He even made a downloadable PDF of a poster you can use (which I am) to mark off the hundred days. The concept is exactly what put me over the edge to commit to this project. If I practice anything for a hundred days, I will suck less.

No pressure. Just have fun.

I’ve thought long and hard about what I want to do and the thing that makes sense for me is to commit to simply do some THING creative every day.

As it relates to art, writing, or photography. That’s my jam for the next 100 days. I will share on occasion here as well as on Instagram.

I hope you’ll decide to join the fun. Yes, you too can practice and suck less.