Can doing things badly be life changing?

An attempt at putting into words what I learned from The 100 Day Project

The 100 Day Project, started by Lindsay Jean Thomson. Until February this year, I had never heard of it. Now, I owe my renewed spark of creativity to it.

Apparently it’s a yearly thing, and people all over the world participate with it, quietly on their own or publicly by posting what they create, every day for 100 days.

“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”
Pablo Picasso

What I learned

I practiced drawing with ink and painting with watercolour and posting it publicly as notes on Substack and my Instagram, and these are some of the things I learned:

I have no idea what I’m doing

…and that’s a good thing. Having the courage to do things badly, with joy, is better than not trying for fear of failure.

There are some awesome artists on Substack

And they are doing all kinds of wonderful art. Collage, fabric arts, guache, watercolour, charcoal, crochet, and a myriad of other techniques! I am gobsmacked. And they are supportive and kind to amateur beginners. During this project I have discovered artists who are so good that looking at their art gives me goosebumps and makes my heart beat faster. But I have decided that instead of becoming despondent because what I create is not that good I let myself be inspired, and learn from them.

Copying what I see others are doing isn’t cheating

For learning purposes, it’s ok to copy. I can never do it like them anyway, and I learn a lot about colour and technique from it. And weirdly enough, copying helps me develop my own unique style.

Prompts, challenges and themes are the bee’s knees

Getting prompts, challenges and themes from others makes me push my boundaries and moves me out of my comfort zone.

More supplies don’t make me a better artist

Practicing a lot with what I’ve got does. I found this quote by John Muir Laws: “It is not the pen. It is not the paint set. It’s not the journal. It is not the pencil. It’s the pencil miles. It is time in the field, observing, wondering, and drawing.”

Buying art supplies is fun

But even though I have accumulated an impressive array of different brushes and dip pens, I find myself grabbing the same favourite brush (Princeton Neptune no. 12) and fountain pen (TWSBI Diamond Extra Fine nib filled with Noodler’s Ink 41 brown) all the time.

Reference photos are not cheating

Painting from memory sucks.

Showing up every day is more important than perfection

Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes progress.

“It is not the pencil. It’s the pencil miles.”

Geraniums. Ink & watercolour.

I have met kindred spirits

The community of others doing the same challenge is extremely positive. I have met so many positive, vibrantly supporting people during this process, and I cherish the connections I have made.

Creating is addictive

But, grabbing my art kit and sketchbook first thing in the morning is a much better way to start my day than checking my phone.

The 100 Day Project was just the beginning

I have no idea where it will go from here, but I am happily going.

Text and illustrations in this article are created entirely by me without help from AI, but supported by numerous cups of tea and persistent encouragement from my personal assistant:

Kindred spirits

You know what happens when you restack this article? You make it visible for people who wouldn’t ordinarily see it. And then they might like it and comment on it. And then you might read and respond to their comment. And then you’ve made another friend on Substack. So if you liked reading this, why not consider restacking it, and widen your circle of kindred spirits?

(If you’re reading this in your email inbox and have no idea what “restacking” means, restacking is the little circle of arrows under here. Clicking on that will open the Substack app, and when you restack, it makes more people see it!)