On a whim
Overthinking - both helpful and hindering
Hello lovely souls!
On a whim (and out of boredom) on my commute to my part time job I posted a slightly rogue, unfiltered and messy shot of my desk with the following caption:
‘Not a fan of Valentine’s commercialisation but if you fancy a cutesy couples painted portrait…hit me up’.
Thinking nothing of it, nor was I too fussed if I made much, let alone any, business from such an unplanned post, I carried on with my day. To my surprise, on my way home from my shift my DM’s were full of enquiries and requests. I was shocked to the say the least.
It’s funny to think around 6 years ago whilst I was studying I would take on personalised commissions as a means to make money from drawing. If I received one request in a year I felt like I was “making it”. With no experience, no evidence, no real skill - any commission filled me with enthusiasm and a drive to keep pursuing this career choice.
Years on, I’ve learnt the custom commission world is not my primary focus, but that’s not to say I don’t enjoy occasionally dipping my toe back into that world. Of the back of this whim I learnt; It’s a beautiful way to connect to the general public, it helps build character drawing skills…and it’s a nice bit of bread and butter money.
But my biggest lesson…
Don’t overthink every-single-post!
I’ve been considering rebranding my Substack because I almost don’t want to stick this “overthinking” label to myself. Sometimes traits that both serve us and stall us, such as overthinking, are difficult to let go off. At times I feel like it makes me a better artist but on occasion it feels overbearing and hindering.
This label has lost some of its stickiness and maybe that’s a good thing? Needless to say I’m still trying to find the right balance between the ‘f**k it’ and fine-tooth comb mentality.
Every year, I have the same goal - let go of perfectionism a little bit more (in all areas of my life).
Letting go of the idea that I’ll only receive work if I appear as this grown a** business girly that knows every in and out of this industry…is freeing. I’ve noticed more growth, personal and business, in the past few months by sharing the way I want to share and making the work I want to make, rather than trapping myself in the rat-race, conveyor belt of polished reels and competitive metrics. Floundering my way through a creative career is oddly enjoyable to share.
I hope this post, this video, my silly little ramblings are reminders to keep trying, keep failing and reroute as many times as you need. Keep moving authentically ♡
Until next time,
