Sheer volume

Matt Diffee, acclaimed cartoonist for the New Yorker, and a Texan expat, once summed up one of the  biggest problems I have with my "creative" work: "You can't make a great idea happen by working harder". He goes on, "but the good news is... You can't make a great idea happen by working harder. You have to put in your time and go for quantity over quality."

I'm not a perfectionist. I'm far from it. However, I've found that with artwork and being creative in general, I want to "swing for the fences". I'm not a great artist, but I feel that I am capable of great work, and thus I set the bar very high for myself.
Now, everyone wants to hit home runs and no one wants to strikeout, but I found that the fear of  not hitting a home run every time I step up to the plate is paralyzing. Rather than attempt  a challenge and come up short, I balk, and remain only as good as my last good piece of artwork. What Mr. Diffee said resonated with me. I was so focused on creating something great that I was missing  out on creating something at least good...and good is a good place to start to become great. Or as Diffee clarified, "Going for great ideas is not a great idea"

So here is my first step towards fighting that Greatness Paralysis that has kept me from building a portfolio. Behold! From here on out: The Great,  Bad, and the mediocre of Matt Tumlinson.

The painting above is not something that I am proud of but, after a few months of the idea for it bouncing around my head I finally put the damn thing on actual canvas. Now that I have a tangible image to work off of I can see aspects that I want to work on to fit that vision I had in mind. Its not great, I'm not sure its good, but it might lead to something better. Cheers to quantity over quality!