In this thoughtful reflection, curator Kimberly Conrad shares how a simple creative challenge became an invitation to let go of perfection, embrace experimentation, and rediscover the joy of creating without pressure.
Somewhere along the way, many artists, and women in general, stop creating simply for the joy of it.
We begin to believe that if we are going to spend time making something, it should be productive, useful, impressive, worthy of sharing. Maybe even worthy of selling. Over time, often without realizing it, creativity becomes tied to performance.
The painting must be good enough.
The writing must be meaningful enough.
The photograph must be professional enough.
The project must somehow justify the time it takes away from everything else demanding our attention. (A BIG ONE!) The Guilt is real!
Currently, my mother and I are participating in a “100 Paintings in 100 Days” challenge. As I write this we are 91 days in, and yes, we will finish the challenge:!!
Mom has been recovering from surgery, and I thought it might be a beautiful thing for us to do together, and a great distraction for her.
At the same time, I personally felt hungry for experimentation. I wanted pace to practice, to play, and to create things completely different from the large paintings I normally sell.
So for one 91 days (so far) I’ve made tiny paintings.
Most have been 4 x 6 or 5 x 7 inches — the kind of pieces I would normally create quietly in my art journal rather than hang on a gallery wall. The kind of work I would not normally share online.
I painted birds.
I sketched parts of the garden in my backyard.
I experimented with new mediums and textures.
I created little landscapes and imperfect studies.
Some days the paintings were lovely, some days they were awkward.
Some days they looked like nothing I wanted to show anyone, and yet I posted them anyway. And honestly? It was one of the healthiest creative exercises I’ve done in years, because the goal was not perfection.
The goal was simply to create, experiment, practice, and learn.
The Freedom of Small Things
There is something deeply freeing about working small.
A large canvas can feel too risky, like the stakes are too high.
A tiny piece of paper, or a journal page on the other hand, feels safer.
You become more willing to experiment when the outcome does not feel monumental. You stop agonizing over every mark and trying to control the entire process. The other freedom in painting small is not having to worry that you are wasting art supplies:)!
I think many women have forgotten what it feels like to create without an agenda. We have become so conditioned to measure value through productivity in all areas of life. Even our hobbies can begin to feel performative. I know women who have their entire week ruined over a pickleball game that didn’t go as planned. Aren’t hobbies supposed to be FUN?
Artists, especially those who make their living from art, constantly ask themselves questions like “Should I post this?”, “What will people think?” “Does this match my brand?” “Is this sellable?”
I had no intention of selling these little paintings, so I did not feel pressure there, but I did find myself thinking “these paintings are not on brand, they are not what I sell, they are not what people expect to see from me, and the big one…this work is NOT the caliber of work I am known for and sell.
But… as vulnerable as it felt, I posted them anyway, because this challenge for me was about three very specific things.
One was creating beautiful time with my Mom, while bringing the long-lost artist in her back to the surface. Two was showing others in caregiving roles, a beautiful way to connect with and help their wards to heal mentally and physically.
Thirdly, I wanted to learn new mediums and techniques, and practice my drawing skills, which have always been lacking. Some days my painting for the day was actually in my journal, but even on the days where I created a painting on loose paper for the challenge, I also sketched and painted in my journal. Because of that, my drawing skills really have improved. Do I draw well? Not yet! Would I want to sell a drawing? Not yet, but I HAVE improved, and improvement was the goal.
Creativity has always had another purpose beyond marketing and sales.
It gives us access to parts of ourselves that are difficult to reach through the stresses and mundane tasks of everyday life.
Perfection Is Often Fear Wearing Fancy Clothes
Perfectionism can look admirable from the outside.
It can masquerade as excellence, discipline, or high standards, but
often, perfectionism is simply fear in a more socially acceptable form.
Fear of judgment.
Fear of wasting time….a big one for me!
Fear of not being talented enough.
Fear of making something mediocre.
Fear of being seen trying, and found lacking.. and even bigger one for me!
The problem is that perfectionism almost always suffocates experimentation, and experimentation is where growth lives. I’ve grown so much during this challenge.
If every creative act must succeed, we stop taking risks. We stay inside familiar territory. We repeat what we already know how to do. There were a handful of days, 15 to be exact, that I created my usual work in my standard medium (acrylic seascapes) on a tiny scale, mostly because I was pressed for time, and those came easily.
All of the other days, I experimented. I used watercolor, gouache, oil sticks, watercolor sticks, oil pastels, soft pastels, markers, oil pencils, and pastel pencils. It was so much fun. Mom and I found new artists on YouTube, binged their videos, and painted along with them. That is where I was introduced to so many mediums I’d never played with before.
Creative expansion requires a willingness to make awkward things. Unfinished things. Beginner things. I created a LOT of beginner things. Because I was doing so many new things in new mediums. It was hard to post beginner things publicly when I am very established in what I paint to sell. I had to let go of my ego. Hopefully, in doing that, I encouraged others to get out of their own boxes and experiment.
The 100-day challenge reminded me that some of the most important creative work I do will never earn compliments or applause or be sold.
Some creations exist simply to keep the creative spirit alive and to grow. Many of those mediocre at best paintings calmed my nerves and soothed my soul during a tough time. Others had Mom and me laughing our heads off. Still others taught me things that I actually will use in work I sell in the future.
Why Challenges Work
There is something powerful about giving yourself a container.
A challenge removes the pressure of waiting for inspiration.
Instead of asking “Do I feel creative today?”, the question becomes
“What will I make today?”.
That subtle shift matters, and the challenge itself becomes the motivation. The expectation is consistency rather than perfection, so you begin showing up differently. You stop obsessing over outcomes and start focusing on practice. And the accountability of a group challenge certainly helps.
91 days in, here’s what I know-
Not every painting was successful. In fact, some were downright awful.
But collectively, the challenge has expanded me.
I discovered new ideas.
New color combinations.
New mediums
New approaches.
New freedom.
And I let go of a little bit of ego and became braver around sharing publicly.
More importantly, I remembered something essential-
Creativity flourishes in environments where it feels safe to experiment.
It’s important to create a safe container for yourself, even if it’s just allowing yourself a specific amount of time daily to draw or play with new mediums in an art journal.
Your Own Creative Invitation
Maybe your version of a challenge has nothing to do with painting.
Maybe it is:
thirty days of sketching
daily photography walks
writing one paragraph every morning
learning a new language
planting a flower garden
experimenting with a new medium
baking beautiful bread
filling an art journal with color and thoughts and scraps of life
The medium does not matter nearly as much as the willingness to begin.
And here is what I hope you remember:
You do not need permission to create.
You do not need extraordinary talent to begin.
You do not need to create something worthy of selling.
And you certainly do not need perfection.
You only need curiosity and a thirst for JOY!
Creativity is not just about making beautiful things.
Sometimes it is about feeling more fully alive, and yes, uninhibited joy.
